The Gathering of the Legends 2: Unwelcome Answers
by LegendsGuardian
Summary: A new year, a continuation of an old problem. Tensions start to rise, and the warriors find themselves at an impasse. Leaving them with no choice but to walk into the trap the enemy has laid for them. …And what occurs, is one thing they never expected...
1. Prologue

**The Gathering of the Legends: Book Two**

**Unwelcome Answers**

**Written by: LegendsGuardian**

**Original Summary: **A new year, a continuation of an old problem. Tensions start to rise, and the warriors find themselves at an impasse. Leaving them with no other choice but to walk into the trap the enemy has laid for them. …And what occurs, is one thing they never expected...

...Some questions are better left unanswered.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Ronin, the Warlords, or anything that is officially affiliated with them.

**Rating: **T for violence and the occasional use of language.

* * *

**Prologue:**

**January 1997:**

* * *

The rain beat endlessly against the window, the normally undetectable sound magnified by the stillness of the house. The sole occupant in the bedroom on the upper floor was drawn in on herself, deep in thought, her eyebrows creased into a slight frown.

It was coming…What she was unsure of, but she could most certainly feel it. She was also more than aware that she had not been the only one to detect whatever it might be. The big question right now, was what exactly was this feeling, and why did it have her so concerned?

The woman ran a hand through her long blueish-black hair, closing her eyes for a moment. All the warriors had been present for over a week now, and there had been no sign of Raikken at all. No one could fathom why, or what it meant, except for her, since Kayura knew that Universe was keeping the enemy at bay.

At least, until the Lady Ancient or someone else told her that she had done enough for the time. Even at that, Kayura very much doubted that'd stop the Scout and get her to go back to hiding in the shadows completely. It was one less thing for Kayura to worry about.

She suddenly sighed heavily through her nose, why did this all have to be so difficult? There was much she needed to tell the Ronin Warriors, but couldn't because it was not the right time, or because she was not permitted to. Oh! Who had come up with some of those stupid rules anyway?

Knowing the truth of a matter could help save a life, the way she saw it. It also was not like she could risk being placed in the middle of things. Especially when she was their former enemy, brainwashed or not, it was not a very good thing for her to have to skirt around the truth. She needed them to trust her, so how was she supposed to gain their trust when she couldn't tell them a quarter of what was really going on?

She sighed and got to her feet, now able to hear the murmurings of people talking downstairs, and put on her slippers. The woman walked over to the window and stared out over the drenched grounds.

No matter what she did, or tried to think about, it would always return to that one feeling she had for she just could not shake it. That one feeling where everything seemed to sink to the bottom of your stomach, and remain there no matter what you tried. She had been dealing with this uneasiness for a while, and it had only gotten worse now that she had comeback to the Mortal Realm.

Kayura let out a pained sigh, she would love to know the cause for her unease…But, she was smart enough to know that she would find out only after it was too late…

_Truer words could not have been spoken._


	2. Chapter 1: January 1997

**Chapter One: **

* * *

It was eerily silent; save for the noise of the house's sleeping inhabitants. Rain still clung to the windows, and gray clouds lingered in the morning sky. There was a sense of calm about everything, something that had been missing during the past few months. Things had been nothing short of hectic, and just past the limit of being unbearable.

So being able to get away from all of that for a few weeks, had done them all some good. It had permitted each warrior the time to face the normal aspects of their life, while at the same time remind them why they were still fighting. Granted, when you were destined with the fate of saving the world…Nothing was ever quite normal.

These thoughts, however, were not on the young man's mind as he descended the staircase. Reaching the bottom step he paused to run a hand through his auburn hair, before proceeding to the kitchen.

A small amount of light filtered into the window as he moved across the living room, illuminating the blue-gray shirt he was wearing. The slightly tight-fitting clothing clearly showed the muscling underneath, though it did hide a good deal of it. The dark jeans he wore, fit just well enough…But, despite of the physical signs…It was the raw spiritual power he had that made him, and those he knew so noticeable.

His thoughts were slightly jumbled, not having been awake long enough to rationally think; so it was not unusual for him to be going from one topic to another.

He had most certainly appreciated the time away to be with his family, it had certainly helped to put him in a better mood. Even if his mother had almost lectured him to death about not saying something was wrong sooner. Here the Torrent Ronin had to smile; the woman looked as fragile as a piece of china but was as tough as nails.

He was aware though, that he had not been the only Ronin to suffer at the end of an annoyed parent, or immediate family relative. It just couldn't be helped when certain families knew about the armors, had all assumed something was up, and had to wait several months before they were officially told.

Yeah that was bit dumb on their parts, but they really hadn't been able to help it. They had not wanted to risk certain things, for fear of…Cye stopped that thought right there. There was no point in getting himself worked up over this any longer; he would just take what came to him, when it came. Right now all he wanted to worry about was feeding the masses.

Cye chuckled low in his throat, as he began to pull out pots and pans having reached the kitchen. The house he was currently living in, he shared with about thirty others…Impossible for a house in Japan? Not quite, especially when you were dealing with things of a magical and almost supernatural nature.

The Ronin of Torrent had long ago stopped placing things as impossible, and just accepted that they were there and real…And anytime a coincidence appeared it wasn't one, at all.

He was living with his four friends, whom he'd grown up with saving the world…And a bunch of women who ran around in mini-skirts when they did their fighting. Yes, the Ronin Warriors and Sailor Senshi working together, and to make for more chaos…All under the same roof. It was definitely an amusing combination, if nothing else.

Oh, and not to be left out were the pets…One giant-sized housecat mistakenly referred to as a tiger, Cye didn't consider Blaze a tiger anymore, he was a very large, very-fat housecat…There were two adults talking cats from a planet and time that no longer existed, and their kitten…Who technically wasn't even born yet.

Confused yet? Well Cye had most certainly been spinning that day, when he found out that the Ronins fight wasn't over, there were other warriors (them being female did not bother him that much), talking cats, and the future could very much interfere with the past. He'd needed a very strong drink after all that.

It all boiled down to the fact, they were fighting a battle that they had been continuously losing, mainly because the wrong people were fighting the demon. So, now they had one last chance to get it right…And this time, it would be the Ronins battle.

So far this fight was turning out to be exceedingly difficult, so much so that the former Warlords and the Lady Kayura had become involved. What made the fact even worse was they had yet to even meet this Akemliek character yet; well, they had not met him in that lifetime at any rate.

He was sealed away, under a shield the Ronin armor had set up after their bearers' deaths. It was to be a while before he got free, until then they had the pleasure of dealing with Raikken, and his two underlings…Kali and Thanos.

No one had ever really seen that much of Thanos, accept for Ryo who had…Here a scowl crossed Cye's face, it was still a sore wound…Almost died at the ice demon's hands. He'd managed to survive, though Cye still felt that something was wrong…Even though almost two months had passed.

Kali? Oh everyone had dealt with her; perhaps the most annoying, most obnoxious female placed on the face of the planet…Well, next to Lindsay at any rate. But at least Lindsay was on the side of good, and not trying to kill you every other minute. Perhaps the Sailor of the Galaxy's only redeeming quality while she was outside of Scout form.

Cye had just finished putting on the bacon when Lita Kino entered the room, giving a small wave to him in acknowledgement as she bit down a yawn.

The Warrior of Trust gave a nod to her, motioning to the counter next to him where a hot cup of tea sat waiting; next to the teapot, and another glass set out.

Lita took the cup, and drank, "Thank-you. I swear I'd marry you in a heartbeat, you'd be a perfect husband."

Cye chuckled at the statement, "I thank-you for the compliment."

"Anytime," the Sailor of Jupiter beamed, brunette hair pulled back into a pony-tail; she set about cooking the eggs.

All chores in the house were divided amongst the warriors, and then rotated out so everyone would have a chance to do the chore…The only exception would be when it came to cooking. Some of the warriors could not cook period and it was for the safety of the planet that they were not permitted to cook. After all, it's rather difficult to fight when you're suffering the effects of food poisoning.

Yes, Cye had personal experience there, and one he would avoid going through again at all costs.

It was not that bad though, breakfast was probably the only meal everyone attended…For the most part everyone had a job, which started after nine so breakfast at eight worked out well. Lunch and diner, everyone was left to fend for themselves…Unless it happened to be someone's birthday or a holiday.

Breakfast also happened to be the time when most of the plotting, reviewing and planning went on, since all of them were present.

The Sailor of Jupiter happened to be the tallest of the Inner Senshi, a rank she had not lost, even though the other girls had grown a little. It was easy to tell what her favorite colors were; sugar pink, and green, as it often showed in her choice of clothing (like right that minute). On the more formal occasions she wore traditional Japanese style clothing, but when kicking back with the others, slacks, and a well-fitting top suited her just fine.

She was a tad boy crazy, okay all the Inner Senshi were boy crazy to a degree…But the young woman had more or less gotten over her crushes on the Ronins. Though every now and then she was prone to making smart and flirtatious comments to the guys; Cye didn't mind that either, because Sage and Ryo tended to react in rather amusing ways to the flirting.

Lita cracked her neck, "Mmm, who else do we have on cooking duty today?"

"Ah, Aurora, I think," Cye answered, turning down the burner.

"Yup," the platinum blonde poked her head into the kitchen; before entering completely. Her emerald-eyes went immediately to the tea, "Cye, you'd make a-"

"Perfect husband, I know," the Ronin of Torrent shook his head and bit down a laugh; he was more or less always getting that comment from the women in the household…With one noted exception.

The owner of the place they resided in…Well she said she technically didn't own it as the house was still in her grandmother's name…In any case, Elayne told him he'd make an excellent mother. But, what did you expect from someone who thought of you as an overprotective older brother? Well, maybe it didn't help that he did have a slight tendency to act the part.

Aurora Wimund stretched slightly, before downing her cup of tea. She then began to start working on whatever Cye and Lita had left her to do…It was just the way they worked. One would start one thing, the other would start something else, and the third person would do the remaining job.

The Leader of the Elemental Senshi, had a tendency to be shy…She had been the first month or so, and then her loud and quick-witted personality had shown through completely. She was thoughtful and resourceful, most likely why her teammates had chosen her to lead.

However, Cye was aware that she had a temper not unlike that of the Sailor of Mars; which meant if she lost it, the world was in danger. As per usual Aurora was wearing a green camisole and capris; Rowen had once asked her if she had a green thumb…

Aurora had proceeded to hit the Ronin of Strata in the head with whatever book he'd been reading that time…Which meant, it had been a pretty thick book.

The kitchen was quiet, save for the sound of the food cooking, and pots and pans being turned.

Aurora noticed no one was down yet, and inquired, "Who's-"

"I'm setting it today," a cheery voice announced, as Vanessa Eytinge entered the kitchen, "Morning all."

"Morning," was the chorused response.

Vanessa grinned and pulled out the eating utensils and napkins, before going about and setting the table. Her red-hair was pulled back behind her, and her amethyst eyes quickly scanned around the dining room.

"Need light in here," she paused in her task, and turned on the lights.

Cye looked up from what he was doing to see that his elemental partner was wearing an almost sky-blue top today, and blue-jeans…Here the young man shook his head, it was amusing that the Elementals had their chosen favorite color and would wear a top only that color.

It was very odd for them not to be wearing said preferred colors, though one day they had switched out, confusing everyone in the house. Cye, however, knew much better than that, it was highly likely Elayne had dared them to do it.

A dark colored cat now entered the kitchen, hopping up onto the vacant counter that she normally used as a perch. It was the only counter space in the entire kitchen that the cooks did not use.

"Morning Luna," the Water Ronin said in acknowledgment.

The cat gave a nod in acknowledgement, washing at her paw, "Good morning Cye. Minna."

"Heya Luna," the Senshi of Jupiter greeted back, spooning out the eggs.

The cat's ears suddenly perked forward as she heard muttering…Very extremely annoyed muttering at that.

"Artemis?" Luna asked, being able to discern his mumbling quite clearly.

The white cat halted in his rant to White Blaze, and offered a slight smile, "Uh, morning gang."

"What's the matter?" Aurora inquired, having paused from her normal breakfast routine.

"Oh not much," Artemis commented, White Blaze gave a loud huff to this, "Just going over why we think that girl, is crazy."

He gracefully leapt to the counter-top, seating himself next to Luna. White Blaze gave a nod as if agreeing with the comment, before retreating to the living room.

"Okay why are you peeved at Elayne this time?" Lita asked, placing a hand on her hip. She knew all too well that Artemis only ever referred to one person like that; and that person would be Elayne.

"No particular reason, aside from the fact she didn't come in till two last night," the white cat gave a huff in annoyance, "They have her on outrageous shifts to start, but she always stays out later than that."

"She's an adult ya know Artemis," Cye pointed out with a small grin, "She has a life that doesn't involve us."

"Oh I wouldn't bet your armor on that," A familiar voice brought in, Kirstin Blair, Kirs to her closest friends, was about as tall as her best friend Vanessa. A young woman with plenty going for her, Kirstin was undoubtedly the most laid-back of her group.

Her teal eyes, stood out even with her midnight-blue hair streaked with sky-blue. As Cye had come to learn, the other girls had dared her to dye it that way. Kirstin had never been one to wimp-out in the face of the challenge, and she was the one who pulled the craziest stunts as it was. She also dressed in stark contrast with Vanessa. Her favorite color was burnt orange, and she favored tank-tops, and spaghetti straps to regular t-shirts; as well as slacks.

The young woman was physical and mentally the strongest out of the Elementals, and often set herself up as the protective 'big sister' of all her friends, regardless if they could handle themselves in a fight or not.

"Why's that Kirs?" Vanessa queried tilting her head.

The Senshi of Earth gave a loose shrug, "While we were away she was here by herself the entire time, unless she was off harassing one of us that was nearby. Seems to me that she just makes herself scarce when we're here; I guess she doesn't want to intrude."

"It's her house," Luna dryly pointed out, "We're the ones intruding."

"Maybe you ought to tell her that," Kirstin chuckled grabbing a plate, "Thanks for breakfast again, all."

Slowly, the other warriors started to filter in, the Outer Senshi being first. Being the oldest out of all the Sailor Senshi, the noted exception Hotaru Tomoe who was two years younger than the Inner Scouts, they normally were the first ones down the steps.

Trista Meiou was the official leader of the group, in scout form she was the ominous Sailor Pluto, keeper of time. Though at first she seemed like a cold and blunt person, once you got to know her, it was easy to see that Trista was much deeper than that. Her dark green hair was easy to mistake for black at times, and it was difficult to tell just what color her eyes were.

Amara Ten'ou, Sailor Uranus, often was mistaken for a guy. Her blonde hair cut-short, and clothing style often indiscernible from that of a man's, she had the personality to boot. Loving nothing more than to race cars and motorcycles

That was all right though, Michelle Kaiou more than made up for Amara's lack of feminine qualities. With a sometimes soft-spoken personality, but calculating wit it made her quite a formidable opponent, especially as Sailor Neptune. Sometimes her hair appeared as sea-green, others as navy; it depended on the lighting you caught a glimpse of her in.

Probably the quietest and shyest out of this group of characters, was Hotaru. She was rather pale, and had short-black hair. Her best friend was Rini. However, as Sailor Saturn, she was potential the most dangerous of all the Sailor Scouts. Her powers were enough to take out an entire planet, and if it came to making such a choice, she would without a doubt use them.

'And,' White Blaze watched with a slight flick of his tail, having found a very comfortable spot in the living room, 'There is the least desirable character in the entire house, now.'

Lindsay Catarino, last member of the Outer Senshi. Staggering silver eyes, and pastel green hair; she was often snide, and over-bearing. As Sailor Galaxy, her demeanor was quite different; she was less an obnoxious woman, and more a caring compassionate ally.

White Blaze did his best not to yawn, slightly annoyed at Elayne for having come in so late. She had woken him up, and he did not like getting up that early unless there was some sort of attack or something of that nature.

He watched as the remaining Inner Senshi came to the table, ears slightly perking forward.

Serena Tsukino was Sailor Moon, and Princess of the Moon Kingdom, as well as future queen of Crystal Tokyo. At nineteen years old she had lost much of her fourteen-year-old qualities, acting more like a respectable young woman, and less like a cry-baby. Though, some things had not changed, for one, her trademark hair style, having her blonde hair in pigtails…for others? Her enormous appetite, which almost rivaled Kento's…well…almost.

Amy Mizuno was next, the most respected geek of the group. Amy was definitely as brainy as Rowen… White Blaze nodded to himself as he saw that the Sailor of Mercury had her blue-head buried in a book…Most definitely as brainy as the Ronin of Strata. Calm, and quiet, the young woman always thought through her problems. And if he had heard correctly, she was still studying for her medical degree.

He looked up as he saw Rei Hino sit down at the table, next to Amy, and across from Serena.

Now here the great tiger had to chuckle, the Fire Senshi of Mars, reminded him far too much of his master for his own liking. Stubborn, and a one of a kind temper, she almost made Ryo look meek and mild when he blew his. The raven-haired woman all-too-easily clashed with her scatter-brained leader; but that was then, and this was now. Rei had certainly refined her temper in the past few months, stunning every one of her friends. Though, every now and then, she would get into it with Serena just for fun, and to annoy the household.

Mina Aino, well White Blaze had yet to figure out how on earth she managed to fit in so well. It seemed that whatever left-over personality traits there were, the vibrant blonde had received. Having lived in England for a year at one point in her life, she had used her abilities as Sailor Venus. Sometimes she was considered to be the first Sailor Scout, having even a game and movie fashioned after her. Mina was sometimes over-bubbly in personality, but she could be serious and grave when the time came for it.

A young child with pink-hair, done in the same likeness as Serena's, ran over and gave White Blaze a hug.

He gave a low rumble in his throat, acknowledging Rini, and the lilac kitten perched on her head, Diana.

The pair were from 30th Century Crystal Tokyo, having come back to the past on a handful of occasions…but, those were other tales all in their own. Their reason for being here this time, was not all that clear. Rei had explained, with a smirk, that Neo-Queen Serenity had forgotten to send a letter this time. Thus permitting another famed Serena-Rei bickering match to occur.

Rini and Diana wouldn't say, either, just answering such inquires with smiles.

White Blaze diverted his gaze to the stair case as Kento Rein Faun, and his 'cub', Ryo Sanada descended the stairs. Both took their seats with smiles, acknowledging their fellow warriors with a slight wave.

Kayura, Anubis, and Sekhmet, former Warlords re-named the Ronin Seasonals had followed behind them.

Cye finally seated himself at the table, and queried, "All right, what did I miss?"

"Oh not that much," Kento said with a small snigger, "Sage is having trouble with the 'comatose one' again."

Speaking of Sage Date, he was coming down the stairs now, a slightly annoyed look on his face. He had more or less given up on trying to get the archer to stir any time within this lifetime. Now Rowen Hashiba could hardly be blamed for having low-blood pressure, but it certainly didn't help that he liked to stay up till two in the morning. Yes, even at twenty-three-years of age, his best friend's sleeping habits hadn't changed in the slightest.

White Blaze gave a slight snort as he rolled onto his side, it seemed to be a common thing among 'air' warriors to sleep in late and be impossible to wake-up. Callista Griffith also suffered from liking to sleep way too much and way too late, as any of her teammates could attest. The tiger was sure it had something to do with the air element, why else the same trait in the two warriors?

As for Dais and Cale, the two Seasonals? Well Cale it was understandable, being so closely tied to darkness he had a slight aversion to daylight hours…But what Dais's excuse might be, was anybody's guess.

In any case, the four would most likely sleep all day unless something was done…The majestic animal's ears perked forward and a smug grin crossed his face, something had just been done.

Elayne An Catarina Mogami, yeah her parents had most likely made her name that long on purpose, descended the stairs, rubbing at her eyes slightly, and innocently glancing at her watch. Several months ago, she'd been the unfortunate one to bring the warriors together, having been placed into the timeline for that purpose alone. She'd known most; if not all the warriors since she was young…Those meetings had a little more than fate intervening.

At any rate, she had more or less provided her 'friends' with shelter, and food until they'd been able to provide for themselves. She still let them use the house, heavens knew she wasn't, but now they were paying for the expenses themselves.

"Morning minna-san," Elayne commented biting down a yawn. She then checked her watch, and said, "In three…Two…Annnd…One!" She immediately pointed to the upstairs rooms, and as if on cue loud shrieking commenced, as well as a good deal of swearing.

All of this happened in order, and then four voices hollered in total unison, "ELAYNE!"

A good deal of laughter sprang up from the table at this, as the girl merely grinned and blew at her nails as if drying them off.

She then popped Sage in the forehead, having moved over to the swordsman, "Your welcome."

Sage sent her a slight glare for having laid a hand on him, before chuckling low in his throat, "One day, you're going to tell me how you do that."

"Mmm," She seemed to ponder it for a brief moment, and then smirked, "It'll cost ya."

The previously mentioned 'late sleepers' of the house came down, all looking rather annoyed and for good reason…It was not like she had woken them up in a kind way.

The Ronin of Strata sat down next to the Halo swordsman, shooting the girl a nasty look, "You….Ima gonna kill you one of these days!"

"Not if I get to it first," Callista declared crisp coffee brown eyes locked onto Elayne, as she patted down her azure-blue cerulean-streaked hair.

"In the words of my generation? Whatever," Elayne tossed out, making sure to place the correct emphasis on the last word. This garnered more sniggering from the occupants at the table.

"How is it that you're even awake?" Cale asked in a rather sharp tone, "You didn't come in till two, and didn't go to bed till two-thirty."

Surprise might have shown in her face for an instant, before it was squelched completely. The girl was quick to come up with a sarcastic reason, "Even I can't sleep through all the snoring that goes on in this place. A miracle I haven't gotten complaints from the Estate residents."

This comment caused quite a few red faces, as well as more hate-filled glares being tossed in her direction.

"Ugh, would you all grow up already? Geez!" She threw her hands up into the air and walked into the kitchen, "Sometimes I wonder why we still have a planet with all your behaviors. I'm also amazed this house still exists. Thankful, but amazed nevertheless."

"Ya know, you get awfully sarcastic when you're sleep-deprived?" Ryo tauntingly called out to her.

"Shove it Pyro," came the response to that.

Ryo sniggered a little, and went back to eating his meal. That was one thing he very much enjoyed about being here, getting the chance to press a few of her buttons, and she definitely pushed his right back.

While some might consider her attitude slightly disrespectful, the warriors were used to it. Whenever something bad happened, her feathers got ruffled, and if you said or did something at the wrong time, her response was to get sarcastic.

It was almost like being sarcastic was her defense, the wall she chose to hide behind, instead of coming out and talking about her problems. Ryo knew just as well as any of the others…Well, okay most of the others were aware…She didn't feel like she could come to them with her 'normal' life problems, just because theirs were so much more important and difficult.

Even at that, if they were abnormal ones, they figured she wouldn't go to them about it anyway. Bah, all in all it was a confusing and awkward place to be in, just because no matter what he did, she wouldn't accept the help offered to her.

One day, he really WAS going to strangle her.

Elayne walked back into the dining room and raised an eyebrow, "Wow, you all are quiet this morning. Normally one of you is yapping about something."

"We're just trying to figure out what your problem is this time," Amara dryly commented, though there was a smile and mirth behind the words.

"Bite me," she snorted out rolling her eyes, saying, "On second thought, you probably would. Cancel that."

"Sorry babe, you're just not my type," the Sailor of Uranus sniggered at the next set of eye-rolls she got.

Elayne let out a low moan, "I swear, the next time they offer to transfer me, I'm taking it!"

"Amara's got a point, you're awfully moody this morning," Rowen commented with a slight smirk.

"You would be too if you had to a pull a double-shift last night," Elayne stated in a cool tone, "To top it off, head psycho nurse asked me before I left to be there in an hour to work this shift too."

Sage let out a moan himself, knowing exactly what happened next, "And instead of declining the proper-Japanese way, you were tired, cranky and answered true-Elayne fashion."

She let out a snort, "I wish I had, I was two seconds away from laying her out." She popped Sage in the head again, "Unfortunately Nii-chan, you've influenced me way too much. I merely told off Miyamoto-san; giri my ass."

Kento chuckled at this and shook his head, "Hey, come on mei mei, at least one of us left a good impression on you."

Elayne seemed to think it over, looked at all the warriors, and then burst out laughing, "Yeah, RIGHT!" She walked out into the living room all the while chortling at the comment the Hardrock Ronin had made.

"Somehow, I think that was an insult," Rei remarked, sighing through her nose.

Kirstin snorted down a laugh, what had been the Senshi of Mar's first clue? She had to admit though; it was kind of odd to hear Elayne laughing. The girl had not laughed so freely in weeks…Maybe not since they all met…In any case; it had been a while since she had heard Elayne laugh.

"What are you doing here anyway? Wouldn't it have been easier for you to stay over at the apartment?" The Ronin of Torrent queried having finished his own breakfast, "And, do you want anything to eat?"

"The 'genius r us club' wanted me to look at something," the girl answered, running her hands through White Blaze's fur, "No thank you, Mother Cye, I'm not hungry."

The Warrior of Trust merely chuckled at the term she used for him, having clearly caught the teasing tone in her voice. He did have a tendency to mother her a little, but nowhere near as much as certain others.

Cye made his way back to the kitchen, cheekily commenting, "What does that make Sage and Kento then?"

"Smothering Old Grandmas?" She offered shrugging her shoulders, to signify she didn't know what to call them.

"Oh ha ha, very cute," the Halo Ronin said with a snort, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"I thought so too," the girl quipped back.

Sage did not bother to grace that with a retort; he couldn't help but wonder at her though. Ever since they'd come back from their vacations, she'd been acting slightly different. She was acting more like the girl he remembered growing up around, and he was hardly disappointed to see that.

Friends, who had not seen each other in a long time, rarely went back to being best-friends right away. It took time to adjust to being around that person again, but once enough time had passed things went back to normal. Perhaps, it was getting that way for them…For all of them, actually.

It wasn't so large that you'd notice right away, but there were those little changes in everyone's personality, signifying they were more at ease being where they were. Also, it indicated that they were more comfortable in their dealings with one another…And that, perhaps, was a miracle in itself.

* * *

_A/N: Giri: Obligation. More or less, it's similar to peer pressure. It's a common theme in Japan, that if you are asked to do something you are to do it without complaint, regardless of the constraints on your own time. Meaning, it would have been proper etiquette for Elayne to agree to work the shift, not refuse it like she did…And certainly improper for her to go to the man in charge and complain. sweatdrops Further proof, she has a mind of her own, and at times really doesn't care about her country's culture. _


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Two Hours Later**

* * *

Days tended to move forward at a nice clip when there were things to do, just to prove there were never enough hours in a day to get everything done. As had become the norm around the house, some warriors were out working at their jobs, others were training, and the remaining were trying to piece together what they could about the past.

By better knowing what had occurred hundreds, or even thousands of years prior, they hoped to better understand what it was they were facing now, or would be facing in the future. For the past did have the tendency to hold the keys to the future.

In any case, the scene the young man walked into was a rather normal one for the time of day and the day of the week. Darien Shields, also known as Tuxedo Mask (unfortunately for him), had been perhaps the only person not to stop his steady job. He'd been battling demons and working for so long, it was second nature to him.

Ally to the Senshi, Darien would be the reason why there wasn't a Sailor for the planet Earth; which was quite all right by everyone, because quite frankly there were more than enough Senshi as it was. In the past he was the Prince Endymion, and in the future he would be King…But sometimes he really wondered if he'd _ever _make it there.

"I'm back," He announced hanging up his coat and slipping out of his shoes and into a pair of slippers.

"Well it most certainly took you long enough," the green-haired Fall Seasonal remarked on his way out the door.

Dais was not too far behind the other man, saying with a slight snort, "I doubt he felt like putting up with a house full of hormonal females again so soon."

"No, that's not it," the Prince of Earth took pause, "Wait, are they at it already?"

Both Seasonal Warriors chortled at the man's assumption, before quickly dispelling his fears and then slinking outside. The young man simply shook his head at the two, and shut the door softly behind them.

He casually moved into the living room immediately spying the Elemental Senshi, he gave a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement to them. Kirstin was the only one actually having noticed his entrance, and she offered him a wry grin before diverting her attention back to the conversation.

"We haven't so much as minutely sensed a negative presence," Vannesa said in mild complaint, "Either the enemy is up to something, or somebody is doing the work for us."

The Senshi of Earth spoke up, "Rei told me that ever since September she hasn't been able to connect with her usual method of finding out information. However, over our 'vacation'…" The woman took a pause, "Or should I call it temporary eviction?"

Here Darien had to chuckle; Elayne had most certainly pushed and nearly shoved the warriors to get out and go see their families, or just to find something else to do in that time. To get away and focus on 'normal' even if it only lasted for a few sparse weeks, and nothing for nothing it had helped.

"Rei managed to connect for a short while, and what she saw and felt was that this is soon to take a turn for the worse," Kirstin murmured quietly, "Hotaru says she feels a great disturbance, and I've noticed that Sage is tense."

Aurora let out a low moan, and leaned back into the sofa, "You know you're in trouble when practically every empath, psychic, and spiritually-inclined person in the house feels the world is going to end. Ugh, we're doomed."

Darien chortled outright at this, saying, "You think so?"

Callista offered a slight grin, "Nah, it's just an assumption. Back so soon?"

"Yeah, they needed me to work late, so," he gave a loose shrug of his shoulders, "Same old thing here, though right?"

"Sort of," the red-headed Elemental broke in, "Our resident geniuses managed to find a whole stash of scrolls and ancient texts. They were hidden in one of the bookshelves."

The man blinked and tilted his head, a frown on his face, as he waited for someone to further explain the situation.

"Solely by accident," the Sailor of Air took over, "Kayura was helping us, and as she went to get a book from that rundown shelf in the back, the whole thing just gave way. Revealing another bookcase behind it, containing all this old stuff…"

Her lips twitched upward in amusement, "It was a great find, and what makes it humorous is that Rowen ended up catching Kayura, even though he didn't mean to."

Darien started to laugh, "Oh you're kidding, she landed on him?"

"Yup. Entirely out of everyone's control, but what a picture _that_ made."

The Prince of Earth could only imagine what a Kodak moment that had been, and thinking about it was funny, seeing the real thing had to have been _hysterical_.

"In any case," Vanessa had managed to get her own laughter back under control, "They think the stuff is in some sort of ancient Japanese dialect, so the Seasonals went up to look, but Elayne had walked in hearing the commotion…" She gave a shrug of her shoulders, "She had a thirty minute head start, so it's possible she'll have something before they do."

"Um, Sekhmet and Dais just walked out the door, about ten minutes ago," Darien pointed out.

"Eh?!"

If he could have, the man so would have sweat-dropped. The four of them had been sitting in the living room for almost that full-length of time, and they had not seen the Seasonals? However, Darien forgot to take into account that it _was _the Seasonals; and the older beings _never _did anything in a predictable manner.

* * *

"She's pushy," the green-haired Fall Seasonal grunted out, having taken a blow to his arm.

His opponent gave a half-snort, and rolled his ice-blue eye, "She was right in what she said, Sekhmet. We were getting frustrated, and needed to take a breather."

"True, but she didn't have to be so snappy about it," the man rebutted, trying to get in a high-kick, and executing it perfectly.

Dais chortled a little, "The pacing and snipping was starting to irritate her. The girl has proven herself to be patient, but it can wear thin. She's only human after all."

"Comparing us to the Ronin though," Sekhmet huffed slightly in annoyance.

"You were acting just like them," Elayne complained from the railing on the second porch, "Trust me, you were."

"Ah, any luck?" the Summer Seasonal queried, to change the topic.

"Kinda," Elayne rubbed at her forehead, "The text I have now, seems to reference dates and events in the past…Umm, one of the past lives. I'm trying to see if I can find something that'd give you a better idea where the enemy is, and what it takes to get Akemliek loose."

The Seasonal of Fall frowned now, he and Dais having bowed and given up their match for now, "Is there anything that references a prophecy book, perhaps?"

"Mmm," the girl was silent, thinking it over, "Not sure, why do you ask?"

"Think about it, we have a lot of gifted people here, and it stands to reason it was in the blood," Sekhmet explained, "Maybe one of their ancestors, or someone related to them had prophetic abilities…"

He fell silent a moment, not sure whether he should continue…Afraid, that he might upset her, since he was aware of something, even though she had not mentioned it.

Kayura had told the Seasonal Warriors about why the girl had been so hurt by words spoken during a time when the Ronins were being near-controlled by negativity. Elayne An Catarina Mogami had not existed prior to Rini's future, if she had, she had never been involved with the warriors like she was now.

Someone, or something, had seen a reason to place the girl into the current time-line, in order to better help secure a peaceful and stable future. The 'who' was unknown to them, but not to a certain group of Senshi that represented the Outer Planets.

Even though these people were living together, it did not mean they completely trusted one another. Especially when it came to handing out information; if one group found out something on their own, they never told the other everything (or anything at all).

Meaning, in short, not everyone was on the same exact page. Unfortunately, this lack of communication would prove to be a grave error with profound unintended consequences.

"Sekhmet?" Elayne inquired, looking at him strangely, "You stopped mid-thought and sentence. What is it that you wanted to say?"

"Mmm," he scratched at his head, and looked to Dais for guidance. The white-haired man merely shrugged his shoulders, and Sekhmet scowled at this…Dais merely didn't want to get on the girl's bad side, the coward.

"Maybe, even one of yours, perhaps?" the Fall Seasonal lamely finished.

Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp, "Of course, Naotoki, you're a genius! That would explain why I only remember my grandmother, and not my parents." She turned on her heel and went back inside.

Sekhmet let out a breath he'd been holding in. and hearing chuckling from behind him, he turned around and raised an eyebrow at the Summer Seasonal, wordlessly asking for an explanation.

"She called you by your name," Dais said in a taunting tone, "When did _that_ happen?"

Sekhmet proceeded to trip his friend and sparring partner, saying with a slight scoff, "Stop reading into things spider-eye. You never were good at making predictions."

"Oh ha, funny," the white-haired man grumbled, knowing what Fall Seasonal was referring to. Sekhmet meant the fights with the Ronin Warriors back in nineteen-eighty-eight during the Dynasty's attempted invasion of earth. Of course, not like any of them were good at reading their enemy back then, nor were they any better at reading the Ronins as allies.

"Come on, I'm sure she'll come up with something now," Sekhmet murmured as he walked back into the house. Dais slightly shook his head, picked himself up and followed.

* * *

Cale had been surprised to see the girl came back inside in such a hurry, but he had tried to pay it little mind as he went back to deciphering the scroll he was reading. Soon, however, he became more interested in trying to figure out what she was doing.

Elayne had moved to a bookshelf, tapped it, shook her head, moved to the next and repeated the process. She was on her fourth bookshelf now, and a frown had settled onto her face.

Kayura had also took notice of the strange routine, and after a few moments of pause, queried, "Elayne, what are you up to?"

"Looking for something," the girl responded, ducking behind another shelf, "Sekhmet brought it to my attention actually."

"Oh, and what might that be?" the Winter Seasonal asked, tilting his head slightly.

"That-" there was suddenly a loud thud, and she exclaimed, "Found it!" She re-emerged with a large volume in her hands. The book was thick, and covered in dust; she walked over and gently placed it on the table.

"What is it?" Kayura blinked a look of confusion on her face.

"Like I said, Sekhmet mentioned it. Look for something that mentions a prophecy book," She paused as the Summer and Fall Seasonal entered the room, before saying, "And that it was possible an ancestor had made one; you got your abilities from somewhere, after all. But, so did I."

Elayne then opened the book, and continued, "My grandmother was a shaman, but I had to inherit the seer traits from her too. I was put into this time to make up for a mistake the last time, from what you and I have figured, Kay. I can recall plenty about my grandmother. Her mannerisms, voice, what she looked like, things she told me about herself…I can't remember my parents at all, so why can I remember only her? Unless-"

"It was done on purpose, so as to correct whatever problem might have occurred, if not to avoid it completely," Dais finished, stroking his chin in thought, "It makes perfect sense. Leave us a way to prepare for things to come, by leaving a book and only one person with knowledge of it, so as not to raise suspicion."

Elayne merely nodded to what the Summer Seasonal said, affirming he was on the correct train of thought. The room was silent at this, for it did make sense in a way; but that didn't mean anyone was comfortable with it.

"Where has Anubis vanished too now?" Cale inquired suddenly, having realized the bearer of Spring was not present.

"He and Ryo went out for a walk," Kayura answered, saying with a sigh, "He thought the fresh air might help some, and it does keep the other Ronin from getting suspicious."

Ryo was ill, but at this time everyone in the house thought it was nothing more than a winter cold…However, the Seasonals knew better than that. With the strain that had been placed on the Ronin Leader's mind and body, which was followed by a near-death experience…It was not surprising that he would still be suffering from the aftermath of that.

In fact, it was quite possible it would take anywhere from six to eight months for Ryo to completely heal from the ordeal. Time which they were not sure they had, but for now they saw no reason to worry the other Ronin or involve the Senshi so they left the matter alone.

If they had thought Ryo was in immediate danger, then they would have pressured him to tell the others what was going, or come out and said what was up themselves. As it was, things were quiet, so to bring it up was impractical.

"This is her hand-writing, and definitely a prophecy book," Elayne slowly murmured, tracing the pages with her fingers, "Text is really worn though, but in any case, some of these things have occurred already. This book is from one of the past lifetimes, it has to be. So, guess that means the same for me."

"Ah, about that, umm," Cale hesitated, before querying, "I am curious as to why you are behaving in such a way about this topic. You don't seem surprised that we know you aren't from this time."

Elayne grinned a little, "I don't think I would have ever brought myself to say it, so I asked Kayura to tell you. However, by the time I broached the subject you'd already been informed."

Kayura gave a rather sheepish grin to this; she had already apologized to Elayne for saying it to others. The girl really didn't care though, as long as she didn't have to tell people herself it worked.

"In fact, the Outer Senshi already knew and they told the Inner," she continued, flipping through the pages, looking for something, "I noticed a change in attitude towards me so I asked Trista, and she confirmed it." She paused, and looked up and said in a calm tone, "You really have to work on your communications with each other; it could lead to your downfall if you aren't careful."

She said nothing further on it, as a scowl settled onto her features, "This isn't good. I think I just discovered the reason why your enemy pulled back."

* * *

_The Seal of Light shall be shattered,_

_Upon the collection of the powers and their rage._

_But, at first the enemy shall not succeed,_

_Having far underestimated their need._

_Only when the element of five is called,_

_Can the last of the power be collected._

To anyone those lines might not mean a whole lot, but the minute the Seasonals heard them, they knew instantly what it referred too. Relaying it to everyone else in the house hadn't been that much of an issue. Of course they had gotten blank looks from everyone, except the Ronin Elementals. The five young men heard that part, and each of them went as near-to-sheet-white as humanely possible.

Given the opportunity, Kayura gladly would have told them everything else they needed to know, right then and there. However, she knew she couldn't, as it was neither the time nor the place. For now, she would have to wait, and let them come to terms with this issue, presenting all the other ones.

Swallowing the fact that the Inferno armor was one more pawn in this never-ending game of chess, was not easy. One had to wonder when this cat-and-mouse nonsense would end, and things would reach the climax. For many of the warriors, this felt like it had been going on far too long without a major fight, which is something they were used to having.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes to be careful what you wish for; all too soon they would be getting more than what they bargained for.

Sage's lips were turned slightly in a frown, his brows furrowed, "So, I guess it means it is possible then. But this begs to question, why we couldn't before."

"There's no telling really," the Ronin of Strata gently brought in, "Maybe it didn't consider Suzunagi enough of a threat to be bothered with. Or, maybe it just didn't hear us."

"Or maybe it ignored us, we could be here for years if we try and go over all the possibilities for it not coming then," Cye broke in, to stop Rowen before he went off on a full-analysis of the matter.

"Yeah, but what guarantee do we have that'd come now?" Kento inquired, arms crossed resolutely in front of his chest.

Ryo watched his friends with a weary-eye, having return from the walk he had gone on with the Spring Seasonal. The two of them had come upon the four young men, and Lady Ancient, and immediately knew by the looks on their faces something was up.

The Ronin of Wildfire was not surprised by this latest development; he had known all along Inferno could still be called. Even now, he could feel the presence of that armor in the back of his mind, more so since the coma and reawakening of his memories.

However, he was very reluctant to make this fact known, he did not want to concern the others, even though it was necessary to tell them…But, maybe, that could wait for another day.

"It was explained to me this way," Kayura said slowly, before murmuring out, "Each of the armors are an element, or season merely in solid form. The Inferno armor is the same, except it requires using the other armors to form. It uses the strength and connection between the armors to come into this world. Talpa's armors were destroyed, true enough. Yet, the elements were not, and nor was the connection between the bearers. So, if needed and called for Inferno will form."

Rowen sighed heavily through his nose, "Unfortunately, put that way it does make perfect sense. I just hope we don't need that thing."

"But we might though," Ryo brought in quietly, "Think about it, it's the only thing we haven't tried. It's January, winter for a good part of the planet, which is going to make touching Thanos and Kali now extremely difficult. Add to the fact, they've got almost all the energy they need to free Akemliek, and we're running out of options and time."

"True as that might be, using Inferno would give them exactly what they need," the Water Ronin rebutted.

"Not if Kali is incinerated by it," the Ronin Leader said in a calm tone, "Look, no one wants that thing buried forever and never mentioned again, anymore than I do. You guys have no clue, what it was like trying to fight with that armor, and I pray you never come close to an _understanding _of it. But, if it comes to using it, then what choice do we have?"

"There's always another choice Ryo," the Lady Ancient remarked quietly, subsequently reminded them that she was still there. "However, in the end it depends upon which consequence one will be most likely to handle as to which option should be taken."

She gave a polite bow of her head and excused herself from their presence, leaving them to talk amongst themselves now.

Kento watched the woman walk away, a small frown on his face; he turned eyes to his leader, "What did she mean?" The question had been phrased and directed at the Ronin of Wildfire with more than just the meaning Kayura had given; Kento knew that right off the bat.

"It's," he hesitated, running a hand through his ebony locks. Should he tell them? Tell them what the armors and virtues had done to him, that in trying to cling on to someone they had ended up poisoning him? It made him not only sick, but weak as well; making him vulnerable to enemy attacks. If he had to use Inferno in his current state, he would die…It was as simple as that. "Nothing, she worries too much, that's all."

Sage's violet eyes narrowed, that pause had been far too long to be good. He stood at attention now; he slightly tiled his head, using both eyes to stare down the Wildfire Ronin.

"Ryo, if there is something you need to tell us, just tell us, we don't need protecting," the blond swordsman remarked.

He might've winced, but he had expected that they would catch on to him sooner or later; but for right now he just wasn't willing to tell them. "I'll tell you guys later, all right? I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Fair enough," the Ronin of Trust murmured, letting out a sigh, "Just once, can't we have a normal non-depressing day?"

"Keep dreaming buddy," the Hardrock Ronin snorted out, clapping his friend on the shoulder, "Our lives don't happen to run that way."

The enemy seemed to enjoy making sure their lives didn't run perfectly. It didn't help there was no trust and communication between the groups. Elayne had spoken wisely; the lack of communication would cost them dearly.

* * *

It was too late, far too late for them to be stopped now. She watched the Ronin Warriors converse with a sneer on her face. Like a cat stalking its prey before the inevitable pounce, Kali continued to linger in the shadows provided by the trees.

There was no way to stop Akemliek's revival; no way at all…It would not be much longer before the prophecy would come to completion. The warriors would be caught in the middle, and if all went well their numbers would be reduced.

It was hard to guarantee that, but she and Thanos would do their best…In fact, Kali was already aware of a way to bring the warriors down. She could do nothing about it now, but when the warriors found the entrance to the realm…As they would soon do, because the magic hiding it had been removed…The minute they had entered the tunnels, her plans would be far easier to complete.

She was eager to get started, but knew better than to rush into something like this. No, for now patience would have to be her guide. Kali cast one more glance over her enemies, before cackling lowly in her throat and disappearing.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed your two chapter update; Book 4 is coming along at a decent pace. Don't be afraid to PM and ask about updates, I know some authors hate that...But I don't as most of my works are already completed (noted exception being Unspoken), and I don't think to update the completed stories on here that often. So if I haven't updated in a month, PM me and ask if I plan on updating this story anytime soon. :) _

_Thanks for reading, and for those who have reviewed!_

_LG_


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Special thanks to my beta-reader LWKitty and also to Yesterday's Tonic. _

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

A long drawn-out sigh escaped from his lips as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans. Kento casually descended the staircase, allowing his self to become lost in thought.

Another day had gone by without an attack? No, try another three, and anytime the negative energy so much as showed up, it was gone as fast as it had come. It was making it impossible to trace and keep track of. Vaguely the Ronin of Hardrock wondered if Universe might have something to do with it, but he dismissed that thought as a greater one came up.

Ryo was ill, everyone knew it and it seemed like nothing more than the flu…But, Kento couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that; something they weren't being told. Wildfire's bearer wouldn't talk about it, anytime his illness was mentioned he seemed to shy away from the topic.

Not directly, if he'd done it directly Sage would have known in an instant and forced the issue…One thing Kento had learned was that you didn't play games with Sage when it concerned serious things. It was truly a hazard to one's health. Plus, the Ronin of Halo always knew when there was more to something…Cye saw the truth and Sage could tell when half-truths were being spoken.

The Warrior of Strength knew just as well as anyone else, that Ryo did not like being a burden to others. It was impossible to convince the man he wasn't a burden at all, because of that stubborn determination of his.

Oh well, there was little Kento could do right now, when Ryo felt ready to talk about it, he would. For now, they would just have to be patient, and only force the issue if something bad happened.

The Hardrock Ronin had reached the landing, pausing to notice that the entire house was empty.

"Wonder where those girls got to _this time_," He mumbled to himself, as he headed towards the kitchen. For some odd reason or another, even with the vast space available, someone had decided the extra kitchen counter was the perfect spot to leave the mail.

Kento idly wondered why he bothered to check it, it's not like anyone ever sent him anything…Mostly all he got was bills. However, his eye caught a letter that held familiar handwriting, and it was addressed to him.

He eagerly opened the letter, and read it.

* * *

_Dear Gege,_

_You're not still sore about the surprise An helped us devise, are you? I hope you are! I relive the moment over in my mind, and burst into laughter each time. I am still slightly in shock over seeing such emotion in Sage-san's face. Who would have thought it possible? _

_I am sure you are still pondering over the fact of my moving out, but really how am I to learn to stand on my own two feet? I can't stay with the family forever; I need to be able to do things for myself. I came to get the last of my things the other day, and one of my photo albums fell out. This picture slipped from the binding, and I wanted you to have it._

_Remember Gege, we're routing for you…I'm proud to have such a special brother. Kick a couple for me!_

_Love always,_

_Rifni_

* * *

A smile was on his lips now, and it widened to a full grin when he took out the picture and studied it. He was all of thirteen a beaming grin in place, Rifni had her arms around his neck smiling happily. There was one other person in the picture; laughter was in her face, her eyes full of mirth as she had latched onto his arm.

Kento became thoughtful after a moment or two, when was the last time he had seen Elayne happy like that? Before she left for the States, maybe…Where had the joy gone? She rarely smiled now, and whenever she laughed it wasn't filled with the same happiness it used to hold.

He found it hard to believe, even harder to accept that she could have grown so old so fast…It just seemed wrong to him. Even though, he had always heard his grandfather remark as to how An was an old soul…Had been here before, and only returned to bless those she knew.

"I want to talk to her," Kento grumbled to himself, "But she's staying so far out of the way, because she doesn't want to intrude."

He wanted nothing more than for her to intrude; he still considered her his 'mei mei,' just one more younger sister that he adored having, and missed talking to. As of late, she had really been avoiding all of them…He would love to know the reason for that.

Well, pretty soon, he'd know more than what he wanted to.

* * *

Kayura had only finished putting her hair back into the clasp, most of it having come loose while she practiced. The minute she put the finishing touches on tightening it, she became aware of something and her eyes went immediately to the porch.

'_Sage?'_ She almost pursed her lips in thought, but refrained.

The Lady Ancient had never had too many one-on-one interactions with the Ronin of Halo. Whenever they spoke because they had to, he was nothing but courteous and respectful. Neither one went out of the way to make conversation with the other though.

Sage, well who knew his reasons for being so reserved? Kayura doubted very much that anyone accurately understood the blonde swordsman. As for her, well perhaps a lingering fear of being rejected because of what she was prevented her from making such a move.

The bond between the armor bearers of Light and Air were not hard to miss, she knew that Sage and Rowen were good friends and had been for a long time. So, wasn't it natural to expect Halo to be holding a grudge?

Well, that was all irrelevant now, Kayura needed to see what was so important. It had to be something for him to be standing there, practically waiting for her.

If someone didn't know any better, they would think the blonde swordsman was actually sleeping, leaned up against the wall like he was. Kayura happened to know better, actually anyone that had dealt with Sage for more than a year knew better.

The minute her feet finished coming up the two small steps so that she was on the porch he looked up. For just one brief moment worry was in his face, but by the time she blinked and re-focused it was gone.

"Kayura," Sage gave a nod to her by way of greeting, "I need to talk with you."

"About?" the Lady Ancient quirked an eyebrow and waited.

"Two things," the Ronin of Halo had never been someone that beat around the bush, "First one, what is the matter with Ryo?"

She bit her lip, oh she had known that one was coming, "I can't Sage, I don't wish to betray his trust. It is up to him whether or not he tells you," her voice was soft, yet kind, "However, if it becomes imperative for you and the others to know, and he still will not divulge the information…I will tell you then."

The young man allowed himself a grin, "Looks like you've figured Ryo out."

Kayura waved him off, "He's easy to comprehend after you've hung around him for about two weeks for almost all your waking hours. Next question."

Sage chuckled for a moment, before it died in his throat. The worry and concern was back in his face now, and it looked as if he were trying to decide on something. The silence continued for several minutes before he finally made up his mind.

"Do you know," He paused a minute, then sighed, he might as well, "What's wrong with Elayne?" Finally, for the first time during the conversation he actually looked up at her.

Kayura drew in a sharp breath; she had seen that look before. His eye-color was a shade lighter, but the look was the same. It was the same as the one she had seen in Universe's eyes. For a moment, she wondered…And vigorously shook her head to keep herself on track.

Now a memory played over in her head, a conversation that she had with the girl, about her unwillingness to tell the Ronins…

"_I can't Kay, I just can't," the tone of helplessness in her voice was hard to mistake for anything else. "I'm afraid. I can't bear the thought of bringing them harm."_

"_Elayne," Kayura was bewildered, "How--?"_

"_I give them all the credit in the world and more, Kayura. They became very important to me over the years, and still are. But, that doesn't change the fact that I was placed here with the sole purpose of bringing them and the Senshi together. I've done them wrong, without trying to. They'd have every right to feel used and betrayed, and they don't deserve that…Least of all from me."_

"Kayura?" the Ronin of Halo queried, watching her face closely…He could tell she was reflecting on something that had happened, there was a faraway look in her eyes.

The voice roughly jerked her back to reality, and she studied him as much as Sage had been studying her. The little voice in the back of her head was going on about how cute it was to see Halo act the role of a big brother, since it made him more human. The more important voice was ridiculing the lesser and telling her to make up her mind on whether or not to tell him.

Again the Lady Ancient bit her lip, she then spoke tentatively, "I don't suppose there is someone else you can ask?"

"The Senshi know something, but I'd have better luck trying to coax an answer out of Blaze. Even the Elementals won't talk," He paused his brows were furrowed, "You do know, don't you?"

"Unfortunately yes," Kayura rubbed at her temples, "Looks like I'll have to put you on the same page as well. Go find the other Ronins, because I don't care to have to repeat this." _Again_, her mind darkly added.

The swordsman gave a nod, and slight bow of his head, before going off in search of the other four. They were going to get an answer, but there was no way they'd be happy with it.

* * *

It had probably taken all of fifteen minutes for the other four Ronin to arrive. Sage hadn't bothered to go very far, taking full advantage of the convenient mental-link in order to page them.

Now, it wasn't like any of them had a clue as to what the swordsman wanted…One thing that had not changed was Sage and his natural evasiveness.

Rowen raised an eyebrow in question, but Sage merely gave a shrug not willing to answer. The archer sighed through his nose and sat down in one of the wicker chairs.

Kento merely sat down on the floor; he had never cared much for those outside chairs anyway. He looked to Ryo who could only offer a helpless shake of his head; no he had no idea either.

Cye opted to stand up for whatever this was supposed to be, his eyes were on Kayura…She didn't look too thrilled.

The Lady Ancient was leaning against the porch railing, her lips drawn into a thin line, eyes far away. Oh her mind was trying to devise ways to get out of this one, but really what choice did she have? Everyone else knew about it, and apparently no one was willing to share with the Ronins.

What had Elayne said, that their lack of communication with each other, was going to hurt them? Well, Kayura hated to agree with the statement simply because there was so much truth in it.

From what she had been able to gather, these five young men had always been the closest ones to Elayne, and in some ways it seemed she was still important to them. They should have been the first to know, not the last. It just didn't strike her as being very fair.

Ugh, why did she have to do this though? Someone should have forewarned her that following the will of her clan wasn't exactly an upbeat job; she would have found something else to do.

The whole bearer of bad news thing was really starting to irritate her, and even more so was the fact that there was plenty she had to tell her charges and simply couldn't, because she wasn't "allowed." For crying out loud, Kaosu was dead, if he still wanted to be in charge so badly, the monk could come back to life and run the show.

Otherwise, the next time she saw him, she was pulling that pointy hat down around his throat and telling him where he could put his version of the staff. Now feeling slightly better, Kayura looked up noticing for the first time that all five Ronin Warriors were present.

"So, dare I ask?" Cye queried looking from the swordsman to Kayura.

The Halo Ronin opted to be the first to explain, "I wanted to know what was going on with An, and Kayura said she was willing to answer. But…"

"I felt it would be best to tell all five of you at once," Kayura let out a sigh from the back of her throat, "Everyone else seems to know, except for you guys. I don't quite get the point of keeping you in the dark on this; I just know you're not going to like it."

"Well?" There was a slight narrowness in Rowen's eyes, it was hardly noticeable, but she knew it was there. Out of all the others, she and the Ronin of Strata had never really reconciled their differences…Well, she had put it behind her, but the more this went on the more it appeared he had not.

"Back when the four of you weren't quite acting like yourselves," She for the most part ignored the winces, but took a little bit of satisfaction with Rowen's…It'd teach him not to be such a snot with her. "I had gone to the elders, they had asked for my presence. It's normal for them to do so, more often though I go to them for guidance and get a migraine in return."

Kento snorted down a laugh at the comment, he really did feel for Kayura. It had to be beyond aggravating being unable to get straight answers, or any sort of answer to a question from those spirits.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I guess I'll just say it," She let out a sigh, "According to what the elders know, what Pluto has told them, and what the little ones from the future have said…Elayne isn't from this time."

Sage sharply looked up, his eyes having widened slightly before they returned to their normal size. His face betrayed emotion for the briefest of moments, before he squelched it. Some habits were hard to break, and acting calm while in the face of adversity was one he just hadn't been able to overcome.

"What?" Ryo could only gape at that bit of information. How was that even possible?

The Lady Ancient moaned low in her throat, this was_ exactly_ why she didn't want to have this talk with the five of them. They were never going to willingly believe this without her explaining everything in explicit detail.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "I didn't believe it much at first either. However, Rini and Diana confirmed the fact that Elayne was not involved in their past or their future. In fact, the events that led up to their future are actually occurring at a more rapid pace in this time. Everything has been changed, from our first meeting to the battle prior to December."

"That's fine, but I don't see where you're going," the Halo Ronin broke in, "Just because she's involved this time, doesn't make her a plant."

Kayura shook her head, saying in a calm tone, "She has absolutely no memory prior to meeting Sanada-san and Ryo. She was young true, but even small children retain memory of places and things, and she has none. The only memory she has is of her grandmother…Elayne also told me that she had no idea Lindsay was her actual cousin, until Daiki told her."

There was a severe frown on Kento's face, "I really can't believe this. It doesn't mean…It couldn't…" But the look on Kayura's face told him it was the truth, no matter how much he would have liked to protest it.

"Think about it this way," the Last of the Ancient's Clan spoke in a soft tone, knowing how upset they were. "She knew the five of you, individually, prior to the war with Talpa. During that war, she had come into contact with a number of the Senshi, and by the time the elders needed a link Elayne had become the perfect candidate. It's too much to be simply coincidence."

Kayura had slipped off the railing now, her agitation was growing and she had a desire to pace, but she refrained, "This place, it's just another convenience. Who would have a spare house lying around that all of us could use so we wouldn't be detected by outsiders?"

"When you point out all the obvious absurdities," the Strata Ronin gently broke in, "It makes it appear that it was planned. There's no way something like this would happen of its own accord."

"Ro! You can't be serious," the Ronin of Trust broke in, "The only absurdity is this utter rubbish."

"It's not rubbish," a small voice broke in, "It's the truth Cye. You know that better than any of the others."

Rini had her arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes slightly narrowed. It was times like these when she acted more like the teenager she was soon to become, than the innocent nine-year-old she had been once. How long she had been standing there it would have been hard to guess, but it was enough for her to know what to say.

"What's the face for kiddo?" the Warrior of Strength queried, he had always been good with kids…Coming from a gigantic family certainly helped.

"Serena-tachi couldn't take this seriously either, thought it was a joke," the disgust in the twelve-year-old's voice was not hard to miss. "It isn't a joke, a lie, or a mistake. Didn't you say she was like one of your siblings, or another of your best friends? Then don't treat this like it's not real, because it's exceedingly real, especially to An."

The Ronin of Halo turned his head to look at Kayura, something clicking into place, "That's why…When I said what I did about her not belonging here, why she took it so heavily?"

"Yes, she's known since then, but she won't speak of it," Kayura said quietly, "I have no idea how the Senshi found out, probably through Universe. I'm the one who told Anubis and the others, but I had thought she might at least tell one of you."

"No, not a chance," Rini gave a snort, "You know how important her family is to her, she feels like she betrayed them. That's why she's avoiding all of you, she feels guilty for doing this, even though it wasn't intentional on her part. She thinks simply because she agreed to help, that makes her evil in some way."

"I think something is going to have to be done to correct that way of thinking," the Hardrock Ronin announced, trying not to grin when Rini's face lit-up.

"Agreed," the blond swordsman nodded, "Of course, it's a matter of getting a hold of her."

Rini couldn't help but giggle, she had known all along she could count on the Ronin, "Good luck, I'm sure you guys will think of something. After all, it can't be as hard as taking down a demon emperor."

"No," the Ronin Leader spoke, rolling his blue-eyes, "It's harder."

The young girl let out a laugh and then skipped off to leave them alone, she felt better now that someone was going to hound Elayne about this. Granted the warriors were all busy, but if at least one person paid attention, it was better than none at all.

"Thank-you Kayura," Cye finally spoke, having turned his attention back to the Lady Ancient, "its one less question I have now." His eyes seemed to fall on Ryo, who didn't miss the look and scowled.

"I keep telling you guys-" the bearer of Wildfire irately began, only to be cut off by Strata,

"We know, we know…Just don't wait too long Ryo, or we'll find out some other way," the archer smirked, "Because, you know we're quite capable."

"I'm getting out of here before you five start one of your brawls," Kayura announced with a shake of her head.

Kento grinned widely as he grabbed Rowen, "Hey now, come on, join us. I know Rowen here wouldn't mind catching you again!"

"KENTO!" The Strata Ronin bellowed in irritation; struggling in the headlock he was more or less forced into.

Not missing a beat, the Lady Ancient slightly turned her head and raised an elegant-eyebrow. She seemed to be almost contemplating it, or merely leading them on. Without a moment's hesitation, she gave the one finger salute, and casually walked off the porch.

There were quite a few jaws left on the floor after that action, and Cye sputtered in bewilderment, "Can she actually _**do **_that?"

Ryo burst out laughing, "She just did!"

Sage permitted himself an amused chuckle, he may not speak to her often, but he had to admit that he liked Kayura very much. It might have had something to do with the fact she could all too easily turn heads, and not care that she had done it. Of course, now he in a way owed her, for she had managed to answer a question that had been plaguing him for quite some time.

The smallest of frowns formed on his face, well at least Elayne's situation was clear to him now…But, how much more was there that he didn't know about?

Well, things always had this way of falling into place…A domino effect had begun, with some answers, more were bound to follow…All too soon, everything would be out in the open. Though, would it leave some of them wishing that the information had never come to light?

* * *

_A/N: First note, Kayura is made of teh awesome, enough said (and I am sure I've mentioned it before, but it is worth repeating). And the rest: Ya you guys get an update, isn't that awesome? Only one chapter this time though. You may get another chapter later in the month, after my mid-terms and before NaNoWriMo. :-)_

_1) Gege Chinese for Older brother_

_2) For the sake of this story, the last of the Senshi's battles took place in 1993; Rini was 9 back then. It is now 1997, since her b-day falls on June 30__th__, she is currently 12, going on 13._


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Night had crept upon them exceedingly fast, though maybe it had been nothing more than a trick of the imagination.

_'Then again,'_ Rowen dryly thought to himself, _'With all the heavy conversations I've had to sit through, it's no surprise.'_

He was lounging in a chair, the one closest to the window, his eyes might have appeared to be watching the television screen, but they were focused on the wall behind it. The Strata Ronin's logical mind was trying to wrap around everything he'd been told, but nothing wanted to register.

There were times Rowen just couldn't accept things. It had taken him long enough to accept the fact that there was such a thing as mystical armor. Every now and then, he had trouble accommodating all the "oddities" that went along with it.

"Working yourself into a corner, again?" Dais asked in an amused tone.

That was enough to bring the blue-haired archer back to the world around him. He looked up, and over to the Summer Seasonal.

Dais walked further into the room, and plopped down on the sofa, commenting about the piece of furniture, "I still think this is the best thing they invented." He turned to Strata, waiting for an answer, "So?"

"Sorta," the young man finally admitted. "Everything that landed on our plates today, well, it's giving me indigestion."

"Sure you didn't eat something Serena cooked?" Lita lilted, taking the other available spot on the couch.

Rowen gave a light chuckle, "No, and aren't you her friend?"

"Course I am," the Senshi of Jupiter gave a slight snort, "She's like a sister to me, and she is the princess I'm sworn to protect. But, that doesn't mean I can't point out how bad her cooking skills are. Every now and then she can pull it off, most times, she can't."

"Such kind words from an adoring comrade," Cale chuckled in mirth, taking up his normal position on the floor. Unlike the other Seasonals, the Warrior of Winter wasn't much impressed by the addition of furniture to the modern world.

This, like most other things, had become routine for them. Those that liked staying up past eleven would congregate in the living room. They'd toss around idle talk, and at other times the discussions were more serious. Rowen wasn't a very social person, he had never been that great with people, but he had to admit it was nice to have someone to talk to outside the other Ronins and the few 'normal' friends he had.

It was also far better than pondering over everything by his self, though he still did that anyway. Tonight was one of those nights that the Strata Ronin was in a fairly talkative mood, because he was quick to broach what was on his mind

"I'm bugged by the fact that we're having such a hard time actually _finding_ Raikken," He sighed through his nose; it really didn't make any sense to him at all.

"Yeah," Lita gave a nod in agreement, "I mean, we're all practically experts on sensing them now. But, the minute they pop up, they're gone not more than five minutes later."

"Disappointed by the lack of action are we?" Dais queried with a slight chuckle.

"No!" the Senshi of Jupiter swatted at the Summer Seasonal, glowering at him. "Concerned about what they may be waiting for. They have to be doing this on purpose; it doesn't sit well with me."

"Or with me," Rowen mumbled withholding a frustrated sigh.

"If the texts are to be believed, they're waiting on the Inferno armor," Cale finally brought his opinion into the conversation. He turned his head to look at those he was speaking to, "I happen to think we can trust the readings."

Rowen went deathly pale, "I hope they're wrong, and even if they are true…There's no way we're going to summon that armor. Not just because they might benefit from it, but because of what it is."

"Yes, that I can understand, however," the white-haired man paused then, before saying, "No offense Rowen, but with as uncontrollable as it was in the past…It had the habit of forming of its own accord."

"I know…We all know," Rowen clenched his fist, steadying his breathing which had become erratic. He wasn't scared of the armor; no, he was more terrified of what it could do to Ryo…Just like Sage, Kento, and Cye were. "There's no way we're going to give that _thing_ a chance to come through. Not a chance. Ryo's the leader and he may call the shots, but we're going to fight him tooth and nail when it comes to this."

"I wish you luck in that endeavor," Cale commented quietly, "I'd hate to see what that armor is capable of now."

The discussion tapered off to one of a more idle and random nature, not long afterwards. The night wore on, and by the time an hour had passed Rowen had tuned everyone out. He was worried and slightly upset by the information he'd received that day. The air around him provided him with a small comfort, and he was thankful for the safety net his armor provided him.

It always seemed to know just when he was upset, and set about trying to give him some sort of reassurance. Rowen found solace in the wind and air around him, and slightly relaxed.

Then, all of a sudden, he felt a shift in the air currents and the archer let out a low chuckle.

All form of talk died down immediately, as eyes turned to stare at the blue-haired archer who had been completely silent for so long. The Ronin of Strata got to his feet and walked to the window pulling back the curtain

He sniggered, and shook his head in amusement, "Ryo's going to be pissed."

Cale was probably the only one who wasn't staring at the archer wondering what on earth was going through the young man's head. The Winter Seasonal had his eyes glued to the television screen, though he wasn't even paying attention to what was on.

Dais raised a fine-white eyebrow and chose to break the silence, "Okay, I'll take the bait. Why?"

"It's snowing," the archer let the curtain fall back and turned to face them.

"Again?" Lita blinked several times in disbelief.

Cale cleared his throat, causing them to look at him; he gave a nod, "Yes. You're right, Ryo will not be happy with that. I've noticed he's already irritated just by the cold temperatures." Being the Seasonal of Winter meant, not only did Cale absolutely love cold weather and snow, but he could very well tell when it was snowing. He had no need to see with his eyes, he could simply tell through his armor.

"Yeah, Wildfire does not like the temperatures to be below fifteen degrees Celsius. Any colder than that and Ryo gets rather cranky," the archer sniggered, "Snow, of course, is the epitome of all evil." That was his last remark before resuming his spot in the chair.

For a brief moment the thought flitted across his brain that Dais or Cale might know what was wrong with Ryo. Kayura knew, but was withholding the information, a point of irritation for him. Then again, with as short as his temper had become the past few months it wasn't taking much to irritate him.

The brief break had helped to settle his nerves a little, but that underlying anger was still there. Eventually, it would boil over; it wasn't a matter of how, it was simply a matter of when now.

Rowen opened his mouth to voice his question, but before the words could leave, the front door opened fully catching his attention. He raised his blue-eyebrows, and tried hard not to smirk at the person.

Elayne shivered from the cold, hastily closing the door behind her. She shook the flurries from her jacket and head, before hanging the coat up on a peg.

"My luck, I swear…" she darkly grumbled slipping off her shoes, and stepping into her pair of slippers.

"Okarie," Dais greeted the girl as she stepped into the living room.

"Ungh," Elayne frowned as she looked them all over, "Don't you people _ever_ sleep? It's almost one-thirty!"

"Like you've room to talk?" Rowen playfully rebutted a smirk on his face. The conversations from earlier were still fresh in his mind, but he refused to let that come into play now…He knew how much the girl disliked sympathy.

Elayne heard the challenge, and dished it right back, "Like, I have a job, geek?" She strode over to him, effortlessly noogieing him since he was sitting, "Mr. Too-Cool-Too-Get-a-Job."

"I work!" the blue-haired archer protested, pushing her hands away, "I'm a pain in your ass, aren't I?"

"Not quite," Elayne admitted, before her smile turned maniacal, "But, I bet you'd love to be Kayura's."

"Elayne!" Rowen growled at her, making move to grab her, but she darted away lightly laughing at the look on his face. He was totally oblivious to the fact that the others in the room were sniggering at him…Elayne didn't miss that though.

"Good night kids, see ya later, don't stay up too much longer," she joked, before quietly (and quickly) making her way up the stairs, lest Rowen actually throttle her.

The Strata Ronin gave a pout and sunk further into his chair to sulk. Then he muttered dark words underneath his breath, before rolling his eyes and going back to watching the television.

* * *

Later That Morning

The bed was soft and warm…He was sleeping soundly quite content in his dreams, and he could have stayed that way forever. Yet, it was not meant to be.

Something cold, no it was freezing, was dropped onto his face and a little fell onto his exposed upper torso.

Rowen proceeded to awaken with a yowl, "COLD!"

The blue-haired archer could hear laughter, and with that more shrieks of outrage and snarls of irritation. Without much thought he leapt out of bed, tossed open the door, remarking heatedly, "I swear, when I-"

His mouth was now hanging open, as he then indignantly sputtered, "K-Kayura?"

The Lady Ancient mischievously grinned at the Ronin of Strata, jerking her thumb to Aurora who was hurriedly rushing from the room Callista was shrieking in. "It was Orey's idea. But we both agreed that it'd be best to let Elayne sleep in for a change."

Rowen gave a snort at that, the comment he was dying to express was: 'oh how noble.' Instead he raised an eyebrow at the Elemental Leader, who was gawking at him, and queried, "What?"

"Geez! Are all archers built like that? I'll convert!" The woman seemed amazed, but was quick to elbow Kayura, "You should have said something!"

All that comment got out of Rowen was another snort, though this one was barely a full one. He was not bothered at all that he was in nothing more than boxer shorts, it was going to take a lot more than that to get him to rise to the obvious baiting.

Kayura outright smirked, "What? I told you I _felt_ muscle, but I have to say seeing is believing."

Now that? Rowen flushed pink all the way to the tips of his ears, and quickly went back into the room, slamming the door in front of their faces…Leaving the two women laughing in the hall.

When he came down some thirty minutes later, the archer was bundled up quite well. Cold really did not bother him all that much, but he wanted to avoid any more muscle-related teasing. Today was bound to be a quieter day than most; it was one of those "fend for yourself" days…Meaning breakfast was on you.

He wasn't feeling particularly hungry though, so he decided to skip this meal. His gaze wandered to the nearest window available, to see how much snow was on the ground.

Rowen's blue-eyebrows sharply went up, "No way! There's got to be at least thirty centimeters of snow out there!

"Thirty four actually," Vanessa offered by way of greeting, "I hear you got the "cold shoulder" treatment this morning."

Rowen heard the laughter in her voice and saw the mirth in her eyes, he moodily mumbled, "Shuddup."

"Oh come on Rowen, don't be crabby," Mina admonished having materialized from somewhere (most likely she had come out of a back room), "Ryo's already acting the part of the grouch."

Here the archer couldn't help but chuckle, "I expected as much. And, pray tell, where is Mr. Grouch?"

"Curled up in an afghan, next to Blaze," Hotaru supplied, having walked up out of the basement. There was a small frown on her face, "I'm starting to worry about him."

"Join the club," Rowen's tone had no sarcasm in it this time, he was being serious. "He's got the four of us near paranoid."

The Senshi of Saturn gave a lopsided grin, deep purple eyes shining, "The way An-nee-san tells it, you guys were always paranoid."

"Okay, yeah maybe we were…But he made us worse," Rowen rebutted with a grin, then tilted his head. "What has you concerned though? I've seen that look a few times before, and it isn't a happy one."

That perplexed frown was back on her face, "I gave him the blanket, noticed he was shivering. His hands were like ice that definitely isn't a good sign. The longer he's sick for the more I think this isn't a normal cold, more like something brought about due to outside circumstances. If you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. That's the same thing that's been on my mind for days, but I can't snag anyone that can talk about it, or knows what I'm talking about. Ryo won't give it up, Kayura doesn't want to talk about it cause she feels like she'd be betraying him. Ugh, where is Universe when you need her?"

Hotaru threw the Strata Ronin a coy smile, "Maybe, you should ask for her. I'm sure she's around someplace. Universe-sama never strays too far, she's predictable that way." The youngest of the Senshi gave a small bow of her head before walking further into the house, leaving a slightly baffled Rowen behind her.

"How come she gets a –sama?" the archer queried to the open air, before shaking his head, grabbing his snowcap and heading outside.

Once there he got sucked into a rather amusing conversation…Well, it was more amusing to listen to then be a part of. The Seasonals were on the porch talking about old times, and older foes which was probably not the smartest idea in the world, because the Ronins were right there.

Now Rowen didn't care all that much about their gabbing, and Kento was too busy trying to figure out a way to catch Cye off guard. One rule all of them had learned early on, was you could not start a snow war with Cye knowing what was coming. Simply because the Water Ronin could easily take them to town and back, so it was best to be sneaky about it.

Cye was passively listening to the conversation, throwing an irritated glare at Sekhmet every now and then. The green-haired man would merely smirk and then add in something just to further irritate Torrent's bearer. Then, of course, there was Sage who was cool, calm, and collected…Or, maybe that was just an act and he always got inebriated. Rowen never could quite figure out the blonde swordsman and had long ago stopped trying.

Ryo had abandoned his attempted hibernation long enough to come see what everyone was doing; he now sat in one of the benches, White Blaze resting at his feet. The tiger seemed to be overly protective of his cub, knowing how ill he was. Kayura was sitting on the porch railing, having pushed off some snow so she could sit there; she too was throwing warning glances at the Seasonals…But, was getting ignored.

Anubis was barely listening to his comrades as they carried on, not really in the mood to join in the banter…Like Ryo, he did not like winter…And he liked snow even less. He was in a grumpy mood himself, so the others were letting him be.

Dais was just talking to talk, or trying to see how long it would take for one of the Ronins to crack. It was probably the latter, Rowen had quickly come to realize that Dais was as much of a mischief maker as Kento, he was just better at getting away with it.

Finally, Cale…Now the archer gave a snort, and then blinked as the Seasonal of Winter proceeded to go on this exceptionally long winded monologue.

"I don't know, I prefer the old days when there were actually decent opponents around," the man said in a bored tone, "Fighting for the glory, for the homeland, for the honor of the family. It all meant something back then, and they were stronger too. Nothing like the weaklings of today, rather pathetic when you stop and think about it. Can't get a fight to last longer than fifteen minutes, it's very dull."

Yeah everyone heard that, and knew the challenge in there…The Winter Seasonal was taking a stab at the blond swordsman. Everybody knew it, and everybody expected Sage to do what he did best, ignore it. So imagine their surprise, when violet eyes looked over to Cale with a glint in them.

"Fine, then," the Ronin of Halo calmly remarked, "I challenge you."

"Sage!" Ryo protested, sending his comrade a look that went ignored. Kento and Cye both let out a low moan, not really counting on it to happen, but knowing the results would not be pretty. Rowen let out a groan himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

The Winter Seasonal scoffed, "It would be unfair of me to fight you, you realize? Foolish of you to issue such a challenge, Halo. However, seeing as how you appear to be −"

**_ SMACK _**

Cale blinked through the mass of white on his face, and took his hand wiping most of the snow from his face.

Sage was getting even more surprised looks now, and he simply smirked at the attention with another snowball waiting in his palm. "Yes, I am intent, so spare me the speeches, old man." He tossed again, but this time Cale was prepared and deflected it.

There was a wolfish grin on the Winter Seasonal's face, "This, you realize, Sage, means war."

"I know," the blond swordsman quipped, before causing an all out fight to erupt on the porch, which then spread to the front lawn.

Sage had purposely started this for a bit of fun, the more he hung around these people the more that rebellious steak of his seemed to come out. His grandfather would have had a heart attack…The other four Ronin probably were already.

* * *

_A/N__: __Thirty centimeters would translate to about one foot. Why not just say one foot? Well, the Japanese happen to use the metric system, so it would be far more likely for him to spew out that sentence in metric. And admit it I so got you with the snow thing; you all expected it to be a knockdown dragout fight x-p_

_Working on NaNo currently at 40K and still going. :-) Enjoy your update_

_-LG _


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

The fight had escalated even further, as most of those that were home for the day had now taken part. Sage and Cale, for their part, were starting to take the fighting a little too personally. This soon resulted in both warriors working their way into the woods, tossing snow and ice at one another.

"Look at it this way," the blonde swordsman called out, pulling his head back behind the tree to avoid getting hit in the face, "At least Ryo will make us skip the sparring session."

Cale gave a snort, taking a snowball to the shoulder and then tossing another, "That's one thing to look forward to, eh?" He gave a scowl when he missed his target, and then raised both eyebrows when Sage came out from behind his tree-shield.

The Ronin of Halo was smirking, "Yeah." He easily threw the snowball at his opponent, yet he aimed extraordinarily high.

"You missed, Sage," the Winter Seasonal stared at the swordsman blankly, confused because before this the man's aim had been quite accurate.

"Oh not quite," Sage was smirking, and watched in satisfaction as the snow dislodged from the tree and landed on his former enemy…Wow, that had worked perfectly! "How do you like that Cale? Still think I'm not a worthy opponent?" Sage chortled out, before turning and jogging off, knowing he was going to have a very mad Seasonal on his hands.

"HALO!"

Yeah, it was safe to say that Cale was pretty annoyed right now. Sending Cale packing in the garage? Like a million yens worth of damage (to said garage). Fending the Dark Warlord off during the raid on Talpa's castle? Slightly satisfying, and more yen. Sage besting his former enemy in a simple snow fight? Priceless.

* * *

All of a sudden the Ronin of Halo skidded to a halt, a frown immediately framing his face. The snow here, it had been disturbed…There were impressions in the ground.

He held up a hand to Cale, signifying a time out, as he sank to his knees, scanning the ground before him, "Cale, get over here."

The Winter Seasonal had watched as the swordsman completely stopped and called for the time out. He knew it wasn't a game or anything of the like, simply by seeing the man's posture. Then he caught the tone in the voice, and headed over.

On approach he could see why the other man had halted, he let out a long whistle, remarking, "You really do have good eyesight."

Sage looked over his shoulder and grinned, before turning his attention back to the ground before him. He let his gaze wander over the small clearing, a frown settling firmly onto his features, "There was a fight."

"Yes, and most likely it was Raikken," Cale agreed with a nod, having ventured further away from him, tracking the prints. "The impressions match them."

"Anyway for you to tell how old the impressions are?" the Ronin of Halo queried, watching as the man sank down and placed his hand to the snow.

"An hour at least," he responded standing back up, eyeing the young man with a perplexed frown. Sage was in thought, turning things over in his head.

"Everyone is accounted for, more or less," He murmured quietly to himself, before saying louder, "Meaning…" His eyes widened as the sudden realization hit him, and he bolted off following the trail. Cale could only helplessly stare at the man's retreating form, before grumbling something about kids, and following after him.

Sage slammed to a halt, eyes darting around as he surveyed the ground. There had been more here? A lot more by the looks of it, and…The red stood out in sharp contrast to the snowy white ground.

He let out a loose breath, and when Cale finally caught up to him he was prepared to dart off again. Sage waited though, noticing how annoyed and out of breath the Winter Seasonal seemed to be.

"Just what…" Cale began to demand, quirking an eyebrow when the swordsman simply commented, "She's hurt."

"Who?" His eyes were _that_ close to twitching.

"Universe," Sage answered quietly, before picking back up his run, not caring if Cale kept pace with him or not. "It's the only explanation as to why the Raikken have been showing up briefly, and then vanishing. She's been fighting them."

"It's a sound logic," no way Cale was lagging behind this time. "Though, what makes you think it is her, this time? It is daylight after all."

"Don't ask me why, or how," the Halo Ronin sounded a little confused, "But, I can actually sense her. I noticed it the last time she was around, but didn't think much of it. Now, I am though."

"Interesting," Cale murmured out, "The Senshi can't even do that, and she's supposed to be one of them. No matter how much of an independent they make her out to be, you would think they'd be able to find her. And, I would have thought they'd know her energy signature…Pluto if no one else."

"She doesn't though," Sage brought in, still frowning, "If Universe was putting out a fake signature, or masking it, they wouldn't know the real one. I don't know why, but it wouldn't surprise me that she'd be doing that."

"I wonder if this means your past memories are returning?" Cale mused, more to himself than to his companion.

"I don't know, because I'm not getting memories…More like impressions," Sage once more came to a halt, his violet eyes narrowing as he could clearly hear the sounds of a fight not too far up ahead. In an instant the subarmor had formed around him, and he turned to say something to Cale to find the man was already in his own undergear.

The Winter Seasonal put a finger to his lips signaling for silence to which Sage gave a nod in agreement, and both cautiously approached. They had no desire to give away their presence without first knowing the situation.

* * *

Once they managed to push through the brush to see what was going on, the fighting seemed to have halted. Sage's eyes sparked and narrowed, four intermediate level Raikken had her surrounded.

"It is Universe," Cale sounded rather impressed, "The point goes to you."

"Gee thanks," Sage rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the scene before him.

It was apparent that she was exhausted it showed in her stance even though she was in a fighting position. Her breathing was ragged, and her right arm hung limply at her side.

It seemed to him that it would be her wrist on that arm that was broken or sprained. He could see a few cuts only due to the dried blood. However, there was no gash to explain the amount of blood he had seen on the ground.

Cale spoke once again, having seen everything Halo had he remarked, "She looks like hell."

Sage could only nod in agreement, Universe might have been holding her own earlier…But now she looked about ready to collapse. She was also weaponless…At least, that was what he thought until a glint caught his attention and he noticed the small dagger in her usable hand.

Both men watched in slight surprise as she proceeded to take out the remaining Raikken simply by using the dagger.

Universe waited for the Raikken to explode into ash, before slipping into a defensive stance and warily scanning the area. Satisfied that there weren't any more, she sank to her knees and put her knife back into her boot.

She then let out a heavy breath, and leaned back so she could sit down. Hoping she could catch enough of a break to gain some strength back.

A sudden thought came to her, and she let her eyes land on the spot the two men were at, "You can come out now, you know."

Sage flushed with embarrassment at hearing this, and walked forward sheepishly saying, "Sorry, but we didn't want to distract you."

"Believe me, I appreciate it," Universe responded, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

Cale echoed his earlier comment to Sage, "You look like hell."

The Senshi could not help but chuckle at that, "Why thanks for the sweet compliment, nice to see you again this soon too."

Sage arched an eyebrow waiting for some sort of explanation on that one, Cale was quick to offer it up, "Her powers are not limited in the Nether Realm; she goes there on occasion to recover. She was there a little during the break we took."

"I see," the Halo Ronin murmured, before asking of the Scout, "But, for the rest of the time, you were here, right? You've been fighting the Raikken?"

"Yes," she gave a nod warily watching as he came closer. "Thanos and Kali are busying themselves with trying to remove the seal. There haven't been that many Raikken, but what ones there are, I have dealt with. You all needed the break, fighting with those things after a while drags you down and I can block the emotion better."

Sage was scrutinizing her, trying to find where she had gotten injured that had caused her to bleed so much…That's when he noticed the dried blood on the left side of her head. He lightly touched the spot noticing her flinch, "How?"

She offered a weak smile to his question, and opened her eyes, "Wasn't paying attention to the one that got behind me; ripped my feet right out from underneath of me. I made move to recover, but was a little too slow. Hit my head on a rock…I think."

She thought? Sage gave a soft snort, great someone else that didn't seem to care about their own wellbeing. A grim look was on his face, just by lightly touching her before he had felt the pain she was in. That wound was deep, deep enough that it required stitches…And if she had hit her head hard…

"Look at me," he said in a cool voice, noticing that she was doing everything to avoid his gaze.

Universe did look at him, blinking in total confusion. She wasn't the only one completely lost on the matter. Cale had both eyebrows raised; had he missed something?

"It doesn't look like they're dilated," Sage finally announced, "You might avoid a concussion." He proceeded to lightly brush the tips of his fingers against the wound in her head.

"Sage, don't you dare!" Universe protested, recalling all too well what had happened the last time he healed…Her eyes abruptly widened in surprise when he merely grinned.

"Too late, over and done with," the blond swordsman cheerfully quipped, getting to his feet, and offering her a hand up.

Once more she seemed wary, but eventually accepted his help though a frown was on her face as she studied him.

"In November you were terrified of the attempt, because you couldn't block. Now all of a sudden your calm and can block out the other person's emotions?"

"I don't know how it happened," Sage admitted honestly, nervously running a hand through his hair. "It's strange, but one minute I don't know anything and in the next I do. A week or so ago, I tried to heal, and it just happened without any incident at all."

Cale blinked at this new tidbit of information, and tilted his head. There was more to it than that, wasn't there?

Sage uncomfortably shifted, "I apologize. I know it doesn't make any sense." He proceeded to arch a golden eyebrow at the Scout when she laughed.

"Oh, it makes perfect sense," the laughter subsided, but the amusement did not die down from her face. "Your armor happens to be cheating. In its own way it's slowly taking down what barriers there are between you and your memories, enabling you to do things you couldn't before without you being any the wiser. I am certain the others are doing the same thing."

"They are trying to avoid raising suspicion?" Cale inquired sounding curious.

"Believe it or not, they like secrecy. One thing about them that has not changed in the past millennia," Universe sounded exceedingly amused, as she stretched out her body to prevent it from stiffening up.

"You speak of them," the Ronin of Halo brought in, having fallen in step next to her, for she had started to walk away now. "As though they were living."

"They are to an extent," the Scout admitted, coolly commenting, "You know that far better than I would. Out of all the others you were the one closest in sync to your armor, it was easier for Korin to communicate with you back then." She took a pause, eyeing the blond man carefully, "Before the incident which led you to distrust it so."

Sage went pale, his pulse started to speed up, and his breath caught in his throat, "You know?"

"Of course I know," she quietly answered. "What kind of guardian would I be, secondary or not, if I had no clue as to what happened to bring you all to this point? I might be heavily restricted Seiji, but I can manage my way around rules. After all, I've been doing it for centuries. I apologize for bringing it up, it was uncalled for. I will leave this warning for you though, if you do not trust Korin now, it will not be able to protect you later."

The blond swordsman let out a loose breath, and gave a nod in understanding. No, he had never really trusted the armor from Talpa, after New York…Nothing could make him completely trust it the way he had before. With this new armor?

It had taken a bit to get used to, but he had come to accept, come to realize that it was more on his side then it had been before. While the previous armor had been neither good nor evil, it was more likely to slide over to evil just because of where it came from.

This armor, in fact all the ones that Suzunagi had created, might have been created from her hatred and loathing, but when the Ronins freed her spirit, they had eradicated that bitterness within the armors…Had actually made them more pure. According to what Universe was telling him now, they had made them more like what they were before.

Still, Sage found himself weary to completely trust the armor…He felt entitled to be paranoid about it, he never wanted to be taken advantage of, in that way, ever again; hence his obvious reluctance.

"At any rate, you know how alive they are," Universe was quick to change the subject, "Especially, after coming across the world they are from when you stumbled across Kikoutei."

"Kikoutei?" There was a frown on Sage's face, as he did not recognize the word.

"Sorry, that was the name it had when–" She gave a pause, though for what reason was hard to guess, "I knew of it. I think you call it, uh, Inferno?"

"Yeah, we do," the Ronin of Halo gave a nod, noticing that the exhaustion seemed to be fading from her as she continued to walk along.

"Ah, okay," She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, "So, how's Rekka-kun holding up?"

That hit something in Sage and his eyes widened slightly, she even knew something was wrong with Ryo? That was not just coincidence, something was definitely going on and he had missed it. As he opened his mouth, Cale responded with, "Ryo's condition has not gotten any better. If possible he is weaker, I believe."

"Are you serious?" She bit her lip, "That's not good. He should be starting to recover especially by now."

"Hold it," Sage cut across them both, violet eyes slightly flashing. "We thought it was just a normal cold. We've figured for a bit now it was more than that, but-"

"You mean Ryo still has not told you?" Cale inquired both eyebrows sharply raised, the Senshi looked confused as well. The Winter Seasonal was frowning, "Why has he not said anything?"

"We asked Kayura to tell us, but she said she didn't want to betray his trust," Sage thought he saw the Senshi of the Universe flinch. He tilted his head at her, "Are you okay?"

"No, no I'm not," Universe was grimacing. "This one's my fault. I thought he'd tell you himself, so I told Kayura not to worry about it, and that her instinct to leave it to him was the right one. Oh what a mess I've managed to make. Cale, you have to tell her that the vow of silence is off, more so than before if he's gotten worse."

"You should stop in and check for yourself," the Winter Seasonal commented to her, before becoming grim, "You sound concerned. Is something the matter?"

"I think I will have to, Senshi around or not," Universe murmured, before sighing through her nose. "Dread…It's starting to linger in the air again. Things are moving faster than what they did for Rini's time, and I am afraid that something will go terribly wrong."

She shook herself to rid herself of the doubt, "I mean it Cale, be cautious the enemy is bound to do something unpredictable and soon."

"I will keep that in mind, and inform Kayura," Cale murmured with a bow of his head, which she then returned.

The Scout turned her attention to Sage then who had stood there uncomfortably shifting as the two of them had conversed back and forth. She gave him a smile, "Stay well and safe, Sage. I'll be keeping an eye on you guys when I can."

The Ronin of Halo let out a chuckle, playfully rolling his eyes, "Oh great. All we needed was another female stalking us."

Universe merely grinned saying smoothly, "Don't you mean it was the last thing _you _needed? Besides, no worries. I don't believe in looking below my league anyway."

Sage could do nothing more than gape at her in disbelief, while Cale started to howl in laughter. The Senshi merely permitted herself a chuckle before walking into the shadows and vanishing from their sight line.

Cale was quick to get a hold of his self, and he looked to the Ronin Elemental, "Let us head back, so I can deliver word to Kayura."

The bearer of Halo only offered a nod, far too preoccupied with his own thoughts and worries to make a verbal response. The trip back to the mansion was done in complete silence.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**

* * *

**

Upon approach, Sage could already tell that something was wrong. Be it the air, the armor nudging him in the back of the head, all he knew was something was off. He had been walking at a checked gait before, but now he picked up the pace.

As he did so he could feel adrenaline start to pump through his veins, and what was more, Cale was keeping pace beside him. Both men stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led up onto the porch, the grave look on Kayura's face was hard to overlook.

"What happened?" the Winter Seasonal asked.

Kayura pursed her lips before answering, "Ryo collapsed."

"What?" Sage was quick to make the demand, "How bad?"

"Over exhaustion, and dehydration according to Ami's diagnosis," the Lady Ancient murmured out with a frown, biting on her bottom lip.

"Kayura, you know there is nothing that can be done to stop this," Cale was obviously worried about her, worried about the guilt she was feeling.

"Yes, but-" she started, only to fall silent when he held up his hand. She tilted her head, eyes filled with a great amount of emotion though confusion was quick to cross her features.

"Universe said to tell them, if he was getting worse, and it is more than a safe assumption to make that he is getting worse," the Seasonal commented, watching as relief seemed to flood into her features. "Halo and I will go and get the other three." He gently grabbed Sage by the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him along.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sage protested, yanking back his sleeve from Cale. He raised a fine blond eyebrow, "What was that about?"

"The Lady Kayura is unsure of her duties as the Ancient, and Kaosu cannot be of much help to her because he is preoccupied. She has no one to go to for guidance, because when she tries to go to Kaosu the other elder is always there. Kaosu and Serenity do not get along, and disagree on much." Cale paused for a moment to catch his breath, before continuing.

"At least Anubis could meditate and try and connect with the monk that way, but it is not as easy for Kayura. Anubis is being as helpful as he can, but he is not a guardian and Kayura is. She has only her own instincts to rely, as a warrior that is not a problem, but being someone others turn to is."

"Basically," the swordsman of Halo was trying to see if he understood this right. "Kayura has no one to give her a hand, point out to her how to do it? So whenever she makes a judgment call and it doesn't quite pan out she instantly regrets it?"

"More or less," Cale said with a nod, "That is why she has been relying on Universe so much for guidance."

Sage merely gave a snort querying, "Kayura isn't related to Ryo by chance is she?"

The question was so perfectly timed that the Seasonal of Winter could only gape at the young man, before offering a shrug of his shoulders; he had no idea. Anything was possible though.

* * *

'_Somebody out there give me strength to get through this,' _Kayura silently pleaded with whatever force happened to be out there watching. This was not going to be pretty, she was going to finally tell the Ronins what was going on with their leader...And, she was the one in the direct line of fire.

Why? She just knew she would be the target, knew the words that would come would be blame for not telling them sooner...That if they had known, what they were about to learn, this could have been prevented. However, they would know the truth just as she did. Even if she had told them earlier about this, just like with Elayne, the damage had already been done.

All that could be done now was to try and pick up the pieces, and make things get back to as normal as was possible. Not like anything was ever normal when it involved them anyway. Still, they could at least try and get some order back into this chaos.

Kayura shifted her weight, her nervousness increasing with each passing moment...Then the four Ronin Elementals came out of the house and that nauseous feeling was back. She shivered from the cold, but turned her attention onto the four young men that now stood before her. This discussion certainly wasn't going to be easy

She could already feel the tension in the air, and her stomach suddenly gave an uneasy lurch. She closed her eyes and let out a loose breath, calmed herself down...Okay, it was time to treat this as though she were describing a war plan.

Kayura the warrior had more backbone than what an Ancient's descendant did, and it was that strength, the one she had gained through fighting in Talpa's ranks, that got her through everything.

"You had questions about Ryo," the Ancient's descendant finally spoke, voice cool and calm. "About why he is ill. You four are smart enough to know when something more is going on, and you are right. The cold he has is not a normal one."

"You're telling us this now why?" Kento inquired. He was just being curious, there was no accusation in his tone at all.

"He still has not said a word to you, therefore someone else has to step in," Kayura drew a breath, before letting it out slowly. "Back when Kali enacted that spell upon you four, the virtues reacted by latching onto Ryo, leaning on him, since they were being kept from helping you. At that time the armors were drained of most of their strength so they relied on Wildfire to regain that strength."

She ran a hand through her hair, pushed a stray lock back into place, "No one realized what had happened, until Thanos and Kali almost killed Ryo back in November.

When the armor of Wildfire was drained to near completion, Universe was able to see the damage that had been caused due to the earlier spells. At that time she was concerned about it, and told me to keep an eye on him. So I did."

Cye watched as the Lady Ancient now agitatedly paced back and forth on the porch, he moved to try and calm her, "You mean he has been sick since then, and none of us noticed?"

"Basically," Kayura quickly rubbed at her temples. "He has just been hiding it; either that or his body is only now starting to realize what has happened. The latter is just as possible as the first. When we went to the Nether Realm, for that break...Universe was aghast that Ryo had not recovered."

"Hold on," the blue-haired archer broke in. He had been quiet, but his eyes flickered with distaste and the irritation was present in his face but he did not let it reflect in his voice. "She was in the Nether Realm?"

Sage answered that for the Strata Ronin, "Cale told me that her powers are not limited there like they are here. She was there trying to recover, apparently we've been putting her through her paces."

Kayura would have chuckled at that comment herself, but right now her mind was too focused on what she had to tell them. "According to Universe, he's suffering the after affects of poisoning. His powers being relied upon that heavily for such an extended period, and then losing them completely when he was already weak, just allowed this to occur."

"Sort of like a secondary infection," Kento offered up, ignoring the raised eyebrow he got from Rowen. "It's like his immune system being too weak to fight off a virus, so it's lead to a worse cold?"

"Exactly," the woman nodded, though she had to ask, "Where'd that analogy come from?"

Kento gave a sheepish grin and scratched at the base of his neck, "Hang around those in the house aspiring to be doctors or nurses, and you pick up quite a few things."

Cye had been reflecting on what Kayura had told them, and quietly inquired, "What can we do?"

"I've looked, the Seasonals have looked at my request, but we can't find anything. There seems to be nothing to do, other than let it run its course and hope he makes it through it," Kayura bit her lip. "I'd ask Universe, but she can't do anymore. Not until the seal is gone, if she keeps up at the rate she's going I'm fearful of the consequences."

"It's okay Kayura, we can't keep looking to her for help," Sage brought in, looking over to the woman. "She is a guide and helper, but it is wrong to take advantage of that. I know we really have not asked her to do anything for the most part she comes in at the last minute if we can't rebound. But, even with that seal gone she's still worse off than Ryo."

Kento raised an eyebrow at the Halo Ronin, "Seen her recently?"

"This morning in the midst of that snow war," Sage had a grave look on his face. "She's been taking care of the Raikken. And even with that break she seemed to have taken, it was not enough. At any rate, if there is a solution to be found to this, we will find it."

Kayura gave a nod in understanding to this, and let out a sigh. Well, it was over for the most part. She was just waiting to get the comments that she knew were coming.

"I realize Ryo should have told us this himself," Cye eyed the Ancient's descendant. "But, I appreciate you telling us. We have been worried about him."

Rowen gave a derisive snort to this, and scoffed, "What would have been nice was someone having bothered to tell us. Oh, I don't know? Back when it was first discovered actually. In fact, it'd be really nice if someone around here would bother to include us in things instead of leaving us to wonder what is going on till the very last minute."

"Rowen," Kento's tone had a warning note in it. He knew the archer had been uptight for weeks, for some odd reason, something had gotten under Strata's skin. It was just a matter of time before the blue-haired man exploded.

Kayura shifted uncomfortably yup she had expected this...She had known all along she was going to take the heat from this one. Yet, she couldn't help but want to avoid a confrontation with Rowen, it wouldn't be fair to Ryo...Not after she and the Seasonals had promised to avoid a confrontation with his friends.

Ryo had chuckled at them, told them not to worry about it, and that at sometime a confrontation might be avoidable. If it were to happen, he would get into the middle for the way he saw it they were part of the team.

The sentiment had been nice, but Kayura and the Seasonals Ronins were not fools. They knew that if Ryo were to get in the middle of such a fight, it could possibly damage the friendship he held with the other four. And right now? Well, with him sick in bed, it certainly was not appropriate.

"If somebody dies when are we going to find out?" Rowen continued with his tirade. "A week after it happens?"

That demand caused the Lady Ancient to flinch, and Sage turned his eyes onto his best friend and gave him a glare. Rowen was not about to have any of this either.

"You-"

"If you want to find fault with someone," a voice abruptly broke in, effectively cutting the archer off. "Then find it with me Touma. I was the one who told Kayura that her thoughts to leave this to Rekka, were correct."

"Uni?" Kento queried, recognizing the voice instantly. He looked all around though, since she did not seem to be in his direct line of sight.

"Here," the Scout sighed out, she was leaning over the railing on the second floor...And in a moment she had landed before them, and slowly got to her feet.

The Senshi seemed to appear to be as bad off as Sage had implied, the color of her skin was paler than what they were used to seeing. Her fuku was riddled with bloodstains from her earlier fighting, and Sage noticed that she still did not have full function of her one arm

"What are you doing here?" the Ronin of Halo sounded aghast. "I thought you'd go and rest!"

"Well, I might have done that but Cale suggested I check on Rekka, so I did," Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she directed her gaze to the archer. "Plus, I know full well of your unbridled annoyance towards your former foes. I was not going to leave Kayura to stand accountable for my decision."

"Universe, you don't-" the Lady Ancient began, but fell silent when the Scout raised her usable hand.

"It was my call, and not yours Kayura," Universe answered in a calm tone. "You asked me for my thoughts, and I gave it. I won't allow you to take flack for something that is not your fault."

She then turned her attention back to the Ronins, sighing out, "If you feel the need to blame someone for not telling you, then please blame me. I had thought it best for Ryo to tell you of the issue himself, I never expected him to go this long without saying anything. Though, I suspect I should have known better."

"What do you mean?" Cye inquired, tilting his head to look at her.

"He's a lot weaker than what he should be," Universe was leaning against the porch railing for support. "Kayura told you what happened, but the fact is Wildfire has yet to bounce back from the attack as well. With the enemy influencing this part of Japan, they are making it colder than normal; putting the armor at a high disadvantage."

As had become the norm, Rowen's anger had dissipated for he queried with a smirk, "All of that just to say Ryo isn't thinking clearly?"

Universe let out a chuckle and gave a nod, before it faded and she became grim. "That, and until he gets normal strength back you need to keep your leader out of fights, if at all possible. Wildfire, in it's current condition, might not be able to protect Ryo if Inferno takes a hold."

All eyes were on her now, and Kento queried in disbelief, "You know?"

"As you did, before anyone said a word, yes. Except, unlike you, I didn't deny the possibility it could come through," her voice was calm and even as she spoke. "Keep in mind too, that if I seem to know more than you it is simply a matter of my having complete memory. Yours should comeback in time."

"Okay, before I completely forget," the Strata Ronin decided to change the topic. "How come you're in Scout form? I thought that wasn't possible during daylight hours."

Universe gave a light snort, "Ignore whatever you heard or read. As long as the sun isn't out, I can transform. And until the seal is broken I should not have access to anything more than my minimal power. However, I can use it just as long as I don't mind almost killing myself to do it."

She took a pause then, fingered a strand of newly silver hair, knowing they'd catch that hint. "You guys are smart enough to figure out whether or not I mind."

"And your assessment of Wildfire?" the Lady Ancient softly queried, subsequently reminding the Ronins she was still there.

"Bad," Universe closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't do anything, seal in place or not, my hands are tied either way. However, you might wish to ask the girl about it."

"Elayne?" Cye was frowning at hearing this. "Why her?"

Universe lightly shrugged her shoulders, "She's the one with the Cimmerian Crystal. I realize you four are protective of her and all, but she isn't a child and she's not helpless. Give her chance, she might surprise you." Universe swung herself over the porch railing then, landed on the ground and began to walk away.

"I'll keep my involvement from here on in, limited," She remarked over her shoulder. "I really can't do much with as weak as I am, but I will keep watch."

"Still haven't shown yourself to the other Senshi yet, have you?" Sage queried with amusement. "We're starting to think you're purposefully avoiding them."

Universe's laughter drifted back to them, "Am I really that obvious? Oh come on, Guardians are not meant to be seen. And, since I'm secondary guardian for you Ronins, I feel I have exclusive bugging rights."

"Lucky us," Cye dryly remarked, rolling his eyes.

"The Senshi were never like you. The groups were close to those within the group, not ones on the outside. And, I would be as much of an outsider as it gets. They know I am here, that's enough for all of us. Until the next time, minna." The moment she crossed over into the shadow of the forest, she was gone.

Kayura let out a loose breath, thankful for the Scout's timely intervention. But now she had to wonder just what they were supposed to do about Ryo; she was not left to ponder it over for Anubis asked for her. She quickly excused herself from the Ronins presence and left.

* * *

"What do you plan to do about Wildfire?" a voice inquired, startling her slightly.

"Don't do that," Elayne ridiculed looking over her shoulder to glare at the Neo-Scout that was now standing there. "I don't like the whole sneak up and scare people thing."

"Sorry," Neo-Universe sounded anything but apologetic. "You'll learn to appreciate it though."

"Yeah, sure." the girl mumbled as she slipped off her glasses and got to her feet. She knew any further attempt to work would be useless with the Scout here. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you'd have left by now."

"No, I told Uranus I planned to linger for a bit," Neo admitted, sitting on the girl's empty desk. "I wanted to see what you planned to do for Rekka though."

"I was hoping the Crystal might be able to do something," Elayne said with a sigh. "But, with the seal in place, would that limit its powers?"

"No, not at all," the Scout from the future let out a chuckle. "See, the seal only affects the powers gifted to Universe by the Great Council and the Elders."

"Okay so it won't affect the Cimmerian Crystal, good," the girl sounded relieved, and then something hit her. "Hey wait! That means the powers Universe was born with aren't restricted either!"

"You picked that up quite fast," Neo shook her white head, voice filled with amusement.

"All right, out with it," Elayne had narrowed her eyes. "You didn't come out of hiding just to tell me that tidbit. Why are you here, in fact, why are you still in this time?"

Neo-Universe gave a loose shrug of her shoulders, "You're aware that I can make myself appear to be the current Universe; thanks to paying attention to Dais some odd thousand years ago. I fill in, and you can't say that it hasn't come in handy."

"Avoiding the issue is _not_ going to work with me," Elayne dryly pointed out, raising an eyebrow when the Scout's demeanor changed entirely. Neo was swinging her legs back and forth in irritation, a scowl on her face.

"Why do you care?"

"You're stuck here, aren't you?" a sad smile was on the girl's face. "By coming to the past, changing it to save them from whatever dire fate awaited them; you now are paying the consequences for your earlier actions."

The chuckle that escaped from the Neo-Scouts throat was bitter, "The only thing ever said is that terrible things happen to those that meddle with time; especially those that interfere with the past. No one ever says why it is so terrible, or what the fate is. The consequence is, though, that by being in the past and subsequently changing the future you came from, it leaves you with no place to return to."

"So, then it worked, did it?" she quietly asked, having walked over and sat down on her bed. Her face was relatively emotionless though much showed in her eyes.

"Yes, and then again no," Neo admitted with a sigh. "The future Rini left behind has not happened, yet. But, where as she can go back I can't, because I'm not missing from the time now...Technically, I don't exist." She paused then, looked the girl square in the eye, "You do."

Elayne ran a hand through her hair, and sighed, "Were they worth it Neo? I mean, they are to me because I was family, and I still consider them as such. Were they really worth all that trouble for you?"

"You know me, what do you think?" Neo sassily queried, before laughing a little, though it soon caught in her throat. "They made me what I am; they gave me a name, and made me feel human if only for a little while. I owe them more than they shall ever know just for that. So yes, they were worth it, and are worth it."

"What are you going to do?" the girl quietly queried. "You have no place to return to, but you shouldn't leave here either. The knowledge you have of the future, of all the things that could possibly happen...It's too vital."

"Well now," the Scout slipped down from the desk, a wry grin on her face. "That brings me to the reason I am here now. I was rather hoping to talk to you about my predicament; I should have realized you'd already know about it, though."

For some odd reason, Elayne got the distinct feeling she was the mouse being cornered by a large ravenous cat, "Okay, and you have a plan?"

"Mhm," Neo Universe nodded. "I've picked up quite a few things in my many travels, and years. Since, technically, I am Universe I can merely become memory. When things start to go awry, I can reveal the knowledge I have through visions. Clever, right?"

"Yeah, and how exactly," Elayne nervously shifted on the bed. "Are you going to do that?"

"Oh you'll see," Neo-Universe said in a sing-song voice; as she placed a finger to the girl's forehead. She then smirked, "Actually, you won't."

Before she could utter and exclamation, Elayne felt her body freeze in place, and then she became blinded by a bright flash of light. When it finally died down, the Neo-Senshi was gone.

* * *

Elayne let out a low moan as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was absolutely killing her. Meaning the girl was fully prepared to chew out whoever had woken her up.

Her hazel-violet eyes blinked in confusion, "Yakuen?"

His ears twitched slightly at being called that, and then the tiger rubbed into her, _'You asked me to wake you when the house was quiet.'_

"Un, thanks," Elayne murmured, rubbing his head, slowly getting out of the bed after he got off of it. She ran a hand through her hair, the pain in her head slowly subsiding, "It'll be easier for me to help Ryo, if I don't have everyone and their mother's uncle bugging me."

_'Agreed,'_ the tiger chuckled out. _'The Senshi are out on patrol. The Seasonals went into town, and my cub's friends were abducted by the Elemental Senshi.'_

"Even Seiji-nii-chan?" Elayne asked disbelief showing in her face.

_ 'Yes.'_

"Wow, I am impressed," the girl admitted grabbing a fresh change of clothes on her way to the bathroom. "That had to take a lot of doing to get _him_ to leave Ryo's side."

_ 'You have **no** idea,' _the tiger snorted out.

* * *


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

**

* * *

**

Elayne slowly walked down the stairs, still trying to fight off the sleep that so desperately wanted to take over. Her body was pretty well fed up with her; apparently it did not agree with her that four hours of sleep was enough.

Oh well, she would live through this too. She let out a low moan and rubbed at her head. The headache was still there, it had not gone away yet though the pain had faded to a dull throbbing now.

"Peachy," the girl mumbled in irritation. "I guess that means I wasn't dreaming."

Of course, she probably should have suspected that the conversation between her and Neo was real from the start. As had been the case for most of her teenage years, and up until this point, whatever she dreamed either had happened, or would eventually happen.

Granted, she did not make that part about her widely known...The people she knew might be warriors but she didn't feel like coming across as even more of a freak. So, basically, no one knew what Elayne was truly capable of. There had been a time where the girl, herself, had not known how far she could go.

Well, that had changed. Elayne knew exactly what she was capable of now, and knew exactly how to keep that fact away from the others. Part of her reason for avoiding them so much lately, that and guilt...A lot of guilt.

"Stop dwelling on it," she gritted out in irritation, making her way towards the Ronins room. "Worry about Ryo, and save your personal pity party for later."

The girl hesitated just a moment before opening the door and walking inside. It might have been polite to knock, but she already knew the only occupant was sound asleep. She let the door close behind her with a soft click, however the frame did not sit quite right so it popped out a moment later...Elayne never noticed.

Her attention was already focused, not so much on Ryo, but on that of his armor, Wildfire. A frown crossed her face as she looked past what was visible to the normal eye, finding little comfort in what reached her vision.

Kayura and Sage, back in November, had made it so that the line was again strong...But here, it was starting to fail again, as it slowly frayed around the edges.

"Oh boy this is worse than what I thought," she quickly kneeled next to the bed.

Then Elayne placed a hand to Ryo's forehead, murmuring, "Don't wake up on me, okay? It'll be a lot easier on you, and for me, if you stay asleep." The crystal around her neck hummed softly, and then went quiet and still.

She let out a nervous breath, "That part's done. Now, let's see what I can do to help Wildfire." The girl closed her eyes, and let herself slip into a meditative-like state.

A few minutes passed, and nothing changed...The only sound was that of their normal breathing. Ten minutes passed and a frown formed on the girl's face, her breathing becoming slightly uneven.

After fifteen minutes her skin had become pale, her brows were creased and her jaw was set in concentration. Elayne's breathing had become more irregular now, and then suddenly the crystal made a sharp chime and lit up, before falling quiet.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and pulled her hand away. It took her a few minutes to get her breathing back under control, but soon enough she had managed to get herself back together.

She gave a wry smile, and brushed Ryo's bangs away from his face, "You should stop playing the tragic reckless hero, and just stick to being a hero."

The girl had done what she could to restore Wildfire's strength, and cut into her own energy in order to give Ryo a needed boost in order to beat his illness. The rest was out of her hands, and she had no allusions about that.

Elayne got to her feet and sighed, "I wish I could do more, Ryo. I simply can't."

All of a sudden her eyes shot to the window and they narrowed, "Raikken again. When are they going to learn?" With one last glance to the sleeping Ronin, the girl exited the room via the balcony. She had more work to do.

Violet eyes watched the girl from the noticeable crack in the door, as it had slid open before. They widened slightly when she leapt off the second floor and disappeared onto the ground below. As silent as he had approached, Sage closed the door and then walked away.

* * *

**The Next Day**

The air in the room was slightly chilly, and that was probably what awoke Ryo the next morning. He opened his blue eyes and blinked slowly, before getting up into a sitting position.

For the most part his thoughts were all a muddle. All he could remember was being slightly exhausted one minute and then nothing. The Ronin of Wildfire let out a low groan at that, he had collapsed again. This time, within full view of everyone else something he had been trying to avoid.

It was odd though, and a frown crossed his face. Truth be told, he actually felt better today. Maybe getting the extra rest had helped? Ryo shrugged it off and got out of the bed, not failing to notice that the others were long gone.

"Were they going to let me sleep all day?" He scoffed out as he grabbed fresh clothes. The Ronin Leader was going to have a chat with his friends about that, the minute he found them anyway. That wouldn't be too hard, especially seeing as how he could more easily sense their locations now.

Who ever said falling into a coma was worthless obviously had no idea as to what they were talking about.

Ryo was rather surprised not to see anyone in the living room, or in the kitchen for that matter. He shook his raven head, sometimes living in a house with this many people was practically impossible.

The Wildfire Ronin sighed through his nose and grabbed something to eat, then plopped down in the living room chair and waited for someone to show up. Not to his surprise, White Blaze was the first to find and come across him.

"Hey buddy," Ryo greeted his lifelong companion, smiling when the tiger rubbed into his hand.

_'You look better than you have in a while,' _the tiger noted, thoughtfully tilting his head.

"Feel better too," the man admitted, looking up when the front door opened. He slightly smirked, "Well, what do we have here?"

It never failed to amuse him, seeing his teammates with the Sailor Elementals. Not only was it cause for entertainment, it was an awful lot of fun to pick at them and see what kind of reaction he would get.

Maybe, Ryo thought with a grin, hanging out with Elayne way back when had some sort of influence on him. That or he had always been this way and just never liked to show it.

Kirstin did not bother to rise to the bait, nor did she permit anyone else too, "Look who finally decided to crawl out of bed."

Ryo gave a sheepish grin, "I'm trying hard to keep Rowen on his toes, here." He then turned his gaze to his four friends adding, "It would have been nice if someone bothered to wake me up."

"Ha ha," the blue-haired archer grumbled, adding, "We figured it best to leave you alone. Plus, if I can wake up whenever I feel like it, you have the same right."

Kento smirked, "Yeah, but just don't get too used to it, pal. You're the one who has us up at the crack of dawn most times."

"I'll bear it in mind," the Ronin of Wildfire snorted out, rolling his eyes at them.

The four Elementals merely shook their heads and excused themselves, immediately heading to the basement. With any luck the Seasonals would be down there to irritate, and if not they could always start working on their music.

Cye flopped down on the sofa, rolling his shoulders, "Still having no luck finding out where that source of negative energy is coming from."

"Oh?" Wildfire's bearer straightened up. Three days ago, they had felt this unusual energy come up and it had yet to dissipate. So in the meantime they had been trying to track it down, in order to identify it.

"No, but we have come closer," the swordsman of Halo was quick to point out.

Sage took pause then looked at the other three Ronin, asking them a silent question to which they nodded yes in agreement. He let out a sigh, closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them.

Halo's bearer looked to his leader then, and said, "We had a talk with Kayura."

"About?" Ryo queried tilting his head.

"You," Kento answered, sparing Sage from having to do most of the talking. "She told us what was going on."

"Ah," the raven-haired man blinked his blue eyes. "Why'd you bug her about that?"

"Because it's been two weeks and you still have not said a word," Rowen pointed out. "Anytime we tried to bring it up, you shot us down."

"Are you serious? It's been two weeks?" He looked baffled, and the other four could only stare at him in exasperation. By their silence and stares, Ryo was aware of the fact it had been that long.

"Gosh, I had no idea," the Wildfire Ronin sounded sorely embarrassed. "Sorry guys."

"Only you Ryo," the Ronin of Torrent grumbled rubbing at his temples. Before quipping, "We forgive you this time, though."

"Yeah," Kento commented with a wide grin, before pulling his leader out of the chair and getting him in a headlock. "Next time, we'll noogie you to death."

Ryo merely chuckled and managed to get out of Kento's hold, but he soon frowned as a thought came to him. He looked over his four friends with a critical eye, "I hope you guys didn't take this out on Kayura."

He was looking for something in particular, a certain reaction to confirm what he thought. For a while now Ryo had been able to sense the growing unease in the house.

Knowing that the Christmas break they had taken had done very little to dilute the feelings that were already there, he was being cautious and observant. Granted, with him being as sick as he was it had been difficult to keep an eye on things.

But, his mind was clear today and he could clearly sense what was lying just beneath the surface. It wasn't the Scouts that were the tension problem this time, it was going to be the Ronin, and he knew it for a fact.

Rowen gave a light snort, "What are ya worried about her for?"

The Wildfire Ronin's eyes narrowed slightly as his suspicions were confirmed. He had known the problem would eventually escalate, and it was something he was still going to try and avoid at all costs. At this point though, a confrontation seemed almost inevitable.

"Firstly, she's the Ancient now," Ryo replied keeping himself in check. "Second of all, the way I see it-"

The blue-haired archer was quick to cut his leader off, "There's still a difference between us and them."

Cye's sea-green eyes went to the archer, and a frown slid across his face. He had noticed it little by first, but now it was hard to deny the fact about how extremely agitated Rowen was.

It was hard to see something when you were with someone everyday for almost all your waking hours, but by taking that break like they had it was so much easier to see. In a way, the Warrior of Trust felt as though they were all still a little keyed up. The past few months had been extremely trying and November had almost been devastating.

But, Strata's bearer just seemed way too uptight. His fuse came across as being extremely short, but that was because he had little patience left. Rowen had never much enjoyed being pulled around, and that's what he felt like...A puppet on a string.

Add to the fact that he had never talked with Kayura, like the others had, however begrudgingly done, with their former foes and it was just a recipe for disaster. Ryo knew that fact all too well, which is why he was doing what he could to remedy the situation.

"Stop stewing over it Ro," Ryo calmly stated having gotten back to his feet, after having sat down. "You aren't doing anyone any good with as uptight as you are."

Rowen's eyes flashed with a dangerous light then, and he cynically queried, "So what do you want me to do, eh Ryo? Go up, say I have no problem at all, and then instantly forgive?"

"No," the Wildfire Ronin let out a sigh. He knew that would be impossible, he had watched Rowen and Kayura fight. The times where he was unconscious he had heard their battles...Especially, the one where she had knocked Rowen right out of the sky.

If the Jewel of Life had not decided to take that moment to intervene and transport into the Nether Realm with Anubis, Mia, and Yuli, Rowen would have been dead. Ryo knew that just as well as the archer did, and it was something the two of them never talked about.

Ryo looked the archer square in the eye, "I want you to talk with her, politely."

"WHAT?!" He indignantly sputtered out.

"Ryo, buddy," Kento began, he did not think that was such a good idea, but seeing his leader's blazing gaze he instantly quieted.

Wildfire's bearer proceeded to warn Sage and Cye off as well, before focusing his attention back on Rowen. Not once did his burning blue-gaze fade, he just stared down the archer, "You are still holding a grudge, and the only one you are going to hurt by doing so is yourself. Take a look in the mirror Ro, I might be sick but even I can see the fact you're two seconds away from blowing up."

Oh yeah, he was angry...The archer's eyes were narrowed into thin slights, and a scowl was on his face. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was fully prepared to snap back at his leader, but he refrained. That was only because Elayne decided to walk in at that moment.

A frown plagued the girl's features, "Okay, what's the major malfunction this time?"

"You felt all the tension from over a room away?" Strata's bearer dryly queried.

"No duh, genius," Elayne gave a snort, and rolled her eyes. "I'm a sensitive remember? Plus any idiot could hear you bickering, I thought Aurora-tachi were loudmouths. Boy was I sorely mistaken."

Ryo eyed the girl warily as he didn't want her to get in the middle of this. He did blink though when she merely winked at him, obviously she had caught the stray thought.

"An," Sage gave her a warning, which she dutifully ignored by sticking her tongue out at him.

"You!" She commented to Rowen before halting directly in front of him, arms crossed in front of her chest. It was a few moments of a stare down contest, before she unfolded her arms, took her one hand and grasped his ear giving it a twist.

She acquired a very loud yelp from the archer, and spoke overtop of his yowl. "Stop being such a jerk. What are your boxers in a bind about _this_ time?"

The Ronin of Hardrock snorted at the action and the comment, "Mei mei, you're too much."

"Am I really? Thanks!" She chirped, slowly letting go of the archer's ear. "Really Ro, you're going to end up blowing a gasket if you keep it up with the silent snappy archer routine."

Rowen merely blinked at her, not sure he had heard her right, "What did you just say?"

"Hmm," the Ronin of Torrent brought in now, playing with the wording. "Silent snappy archer. I dunno, has a nice ring to it Ro."

"Oh ho cute, very cute Cye," the Strata Ronin groused. "Wishy washy fish."

"HEY!"

Elayne felt like sitting back and smiling at her handiwork. The anger and raw emotion had all too easily slipped across her lines, and she had been unable to ignore it. Ryo, or so she felt, was in no shape to be trying to deal with an aggravated teammate; especially when it was Rowen.

Plus, the girl felt like she had become quite the professional at diffusing potentially hazardous situations...And when she couldn't prevent them? She most certainly knew how to effectively end them.

The five of them had easily switched back over to bantering, and the lingering tension in the room subsided. Elayne let out a sigh of relief at that, and gave a grin, saying, "See, I knew I could con you guys out of killing one another."

This got her a few chuckles, and Rowen merely huffed at her, giving her a light push, "Yeah, yeah. Now beat it squirt."

She arched a dark-eyebrow at him, saying with a challenge, "Oh? You and what army is going to make me?"

Rowen gave a widening smirk and jerked his thumb at the other four Ronins.

Elayne snorted at this, but inwardly smirked, "Oh, okay. The Eyecandy Brigade, gotcha."

She watched with a small grin as the five of them nodded, then shook their heads and outright gaped at her. The girl sniggered, man talk about a picture being worth a thousand words.

"What did you just say?" Ryo sputtered his eyes wide in disbelief.

Oh this was way too much fun! Elayne simply smirked at them, "I don't mince my words."

"Mei mei," the Warrior of Strength began, but she knew that tone and that look on his face.

So the girl easily cut Kento off. "Oh please, spare me. Come on you guys, how clueless are you?" She sounded exasperated. "It's not a tease, it's a compliment. Honestly sometimes I wish you guys were a little more, oh bah I don't know hung up on yourself or something. You five really aren't normal."

Elayne shook her head again, "I swear, if it weren't for me, you guys would have never dated, at all." She took a pause there, and looked to see what kind of reaction she got. Ha! Red faces all around, she did so love being a pain, it was really rewarding sometimes.

"Okay, I'm done harassing, later," She chortled at them and walked out of the room. Well, at least diverting their attention onto something else had worked. However, she knew she was not good enough to prevent a confrontation from happening. Oh well, she had tried.

"We're not normal?" Rowen queried arching an eyebrow. "Like she is? What a nut."

Ryo flopped back down into his chair and let out a groan, "I swear, she lives for the sole purpose of embarrassing us."

"Don't you mean _you_," Cye lightly teased, watching with slight satisfaction as his leader's ears went red.

Kento chortled at his friends' antics, but frowned as he looked to Sage. The man had not said much of anything, and was seemingly lost in thought. He raised an eyebrow when the man came out of the stupor, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the swordsman quietly replied. "You'll have to excuse me a minute, I wanted to ask her something." He did not wait for a response, he simply walked after the girl; easily catching up to her in the hall.

* * *

Being as quiet as he was, Elayne had no idea he was there until she felt someone grab her arm from behind and tug her into the laundry room.

The girl spun, fully prepared to strike out, only to instantly deflate upon seeing who it was. "Nii-chan!" She grouched at him, "You scared me."

Sage could only chuckle at the look she gave him, and remarked, "You really do look like Satsuki when you glower." He snorted in laughter when the scowl on her face deepened; obviously she had not appreciated that praise.

"What was that?" He quietly inquired, titling his head that way so he could glance at her with both eyes.

The girl had no idea as to what he was really referring to, but she would when he later clarified, "I know Ro's been agitated lately. He's starting to worry me, because when he lashes out, though I hope he doesn't, he could do it at one of you. When he gets that angry, he doesn't think about what effect his words will have on the other person."

Elayne paused for breath, "Normally, I can tell just when he is about to go off, and diffuse him. It took a lot of years of patience and practice to get to that point though."

"Ah, you have more experience with that then you'd like to admit?" Sage gently queried. No this was not what he was asking her about, but while they were on the subject he might as well let her talk about it.

"Rowen and I, our friendship was, different than others," She sighed, tried to figure out the right words to say. "He and I argued a lot, even after we became 'friends.' It was mostly about his parents, but every now and then I'd get into it with him about his not taking care of himself."

She ran a hand through her hair, her apparent hesitance suggesting she really didn't want to talk about this, "He always came up with biting remarks, and being as old as I was, I didn't get why he said such things. Then all of a sudden it hit me, and I felt like such an idiot for not seeing it."

"Biting remarks?" The swordsman of Halo echoed her earlier words softly. "More like hurtful ones, ne?"

Yes, even he had arguments with his best friend, though they never lasted long or were about important things. But, there was one time where they had gotten into a heated argument...And Rowen had said some very insensitive things.

A day later the archer had apologized and begged for forgiveness...Of course it had taken Sage more than a day to forgive him for it, but that was par for the course.

Elayne wryly grinned she had figured he'd know too, "Yeah, very hurtful. But, what I realized, almost too late, was he didn't know any better. The only interaction Rowen ever had was with his parents, and he gained nothing on how to socialize with others by that. All he had to go on were books, and his parents who were fighting more than half the time. The kids in school always picked on him, so he didn't know how to make friends, let alone keep them."

"And because of all that, he is exceedingly defensive," the blond swordsman finished for her, with a smile himself. "I know. Once you figure out why he makes such remarks, it's easier to take them in stride."

"Mhm," the girl gave a nod. "But where I can handle them now, if he let's loose on Kayura, I know she won't be able to. She may be a strong warrior, but she still feels exceedingly guilty about her past. I also know that Anubis-tachi are very protective of her."

Sage let out a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair, "Meaning, all hell will break lose. And with Ryo being like he is, it's the absolute-"

"Last thing you guys need," Elayne rubbed at the bridge of her nose, chuckling at the shake of the head she got from the swordsman.

"Looks like we're back on the same wavelength," the Ronin of Halo remarked with a grin. While Elayne had started out as being Satsuki's friend, she had easily become one with Sage once he had permitted her in.

Looking back at it now the swordsman still didn't know why he had come to accept her. All Sage knew was that he had, and the fact she was almost as sensitive to the unnatural as he was, certainly helped.

Even if she wasn't from this time it didn't matter to him, it changed very little. The girl before him was still family, and still knew him better than anyone else. There was a connection between them and that wasn't going to go away. His Grandmother at one time joked Elayne was a Date simply because she could pass for his twin.

"I guess we are," She grinned at him, titled her head. "I know that look, you're thinking about Grandma's smart comment to Date-jii-sama."

Sage chuckled at her, shook his head in mirth, "She was right, if you were my age you could be my twin. Especially considering you finish my thoughts before I do."

"I haven't been able to do that in a while," Elayne admitted with a shrug. "It's different being able to see you almost everyday. It's easier."

The smile on the swordsman's face slowly faded, "Imouto, I would rather not ask, but I feel I need to."

"Oh?" Elayne wrinkled her nose. "So you weren't talking about why I interfered just now?" She watched as he shook his head, and she frowned, "Then what were you asking me about Nii-chan?"

"I saw you last night," the Ronin of Halo slowly said. "You helped Ryo, and then took off."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back from him. _'I thought I shut the door?'_ Elayne shook herself, to get a hold on her whirling thoughts. She calmed down and studied him closely, he didn't seem annoyed with her, which was good, but he did seem worried.

"I did do something," the girl admitted with a nod. She knew better than to lie, especially to Halo's bearer. If there was one thing he hated, it was people who lied. "And, I did take off afterwards. You have your secrets, Sage. I'm entitled to mine."

He heard the rebuke in there, and sighed out through his nose, "Look, after all the secrets we've had to discover these past few days, I don't know if I could handle anymore."

Sage saw her wince, but continued as he mistook it for something else entirely, "I just- do you trust me at all anymore Elayne?"

"Of course, I do," she murmured out softly. "But, there are just some things I can't tell you." She looked up at him and offered him a sad smile, "I really want to, but I just can't. Don't worry okay? I'm not going to get in over my head."

Elayne was smirking now, as she commented, "I'm not some fourteen year old who's out to take on the world."

"Oh ha, very cute," Sage rolled his eyes, and then pulled her into a hug. "Just stay safe, that's all I ask. I'm going to worry anyway, brother's privilege, but I'd feel better, if-"

"I've promised you this before, but I'll stay safe," Elayne said with a smile; she'd been slightly taken aback by the hug. Sage had not been that physically open with her in...Well, ages. "And, if I end up getting into more than what I can handle I'll come to you guys. Kay?"

"More than fair," the swordsman acknowledged moving to step back from her when she glomped him.

"I'm glad, ya know?" The girl smiled up at him, "You're starting to act like you again. It's been a long time since you've been yourself." She then teased, "I ought to know."

"All right you," Sage snorted out catching the taunt, "Go on about your business, brat."

"As you command oh great Seiji-dono," Elayne quipped and bowed then cracked up at the look on his face.

She then made her exit, leaving a bemused swordsman behind her. Sage's thoughts soon turned back to the fact that they were with a large problem. Oh there was certainly going to be a confrontation here, and he had this sinking feeling it wasn't going to be pretty.

It was going to happen though...._And soon._

* * *

_A/N: Eyecandy Brigade is probably one of my favorite lines in this story. xD At any rate enjoy your update!_

_LG_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Cold…That was all she could feel right now. That unshakable cold that came from being stuck in a situation she had tried so desperately to avoid. The past three days had gone all right, but anytime she looked at the blue-haired archer she could sense his growing unease and anger.

Everyone could tell something was up as even the Senshi were steering clear of the Ronins. It was just strange. It really didn't suit Rowen to be this way. Or, that was what Kayura had been led to believe. Of course, someone should have realized it was actually the Strata armor causing the restlessness in its bearer.

As luck would have it the only one who knew the armors, as well as Kaosu did, happened to be trying to recover from the past few months. It pretty much looked like no one would ever know the 'reason behind the madness…' Well, almost.

With the way things always seemed to go awry, some good tended to come out of the negative...Even if no one would realize it until much later.

Kayura let out a loose breath; it had finally come down to _this_. Once again Ryo had collapsed, and it had just been one time too many. There was no getting out of the shouting match that was soon to start…So she wasn't going to fight fate.

Her eyes calmly stared at the angry Strata Ronin, whom had confronted her in the hall next to the base of the stairs…He had her, more or less, pinned in that spot. Yet, Kayura saw no need to flee as she was anything but a coward.

Besides if this didn't happen today it could happen later at an even more inappropriate time and she simply couldn't afford to take that chance. She had charges to worry about now she had never had that before, and she wasn't going to let something like this get in her way.

Rowen hadn't spoken, the blue-haired archer had stalked after the Lady Ancient, but it seemed as though he was going to let her make the first move. So, she took the opportunity he gave her.

"Problem Rowen?" Her eyes narrowed just a little, and some emotion seeped into her calm cool tone.

"I think you know the answer to that," the anger in his voice was too clearly present, too real and too harsh.

Kayura's gut gave an uneasy lurch, but she kept her outward appearance calm. She was going to hold her ground; she would not permit the Ronin of Air to rattle her.

She gave a soft snort, "Oh, so you are still looking for someone to blame."

"Blame?!" Rowen cried out, eyes dangerously flashing. He took a step towards her, his voice cut through her like a sword, "Who do you think you are kidding? Huh? I'm not buying your goody two-shoes act, Kayura."

Now that temper of hers decided to shine through, the statement had irritated her quite a deal. Her eyes went to thin slits; her lips went into a feral snarl, "How dare you! I went to you, Rowen…To talk about the past like the others did. You received them, but avoided me, so I fail to see how it's my problem."

She let out a low growl as she continued, "I am not acting. I am doing the best I can at following my clan's will as well as respecting you at the same time. I apologized for what I did, and you were no more than mute about it."

Kayura's voice wavered a little, the temper having gone out, "I can't change what I did, or negate who I used to be…Those were things I had no control of. And, I-I know it means so little coming from me, but I am sorry for what I did to you and the others…"

"Sure you are," Rowen's tone had gone bitter…He had not forgotten what Kayura had dealt him…The scars the Ronins had were not many as the armors got rid of most of the damage, but he had a few.

The x-shaped mark on his chest, where the skin was slightly paler than all the rest had come from Kayura's twin blades and it was something he could not forget. Even now, he was still haunted by those memories not unwilling to forget, just unable to.

Rowen's midnight blue-eyes swiveled to the wall, before he leveled his gaze back on Kayura somehow managing to keep his anger, "_Real_ sorry for almost killing us. Oh, and having a good time doing it."

That was all it took…Kayura's calm façade shattered in an instant, her face went deathly pale and her breathing became uneven. She tried to shake her head to clear the images that had sprang up from his comment, but she could do nothing to stop them.

Tears spilled from her lashes, though she wasn't actually crying, just caught there trying to make her head stop replaying the battles in her head. She didn't want to see them! Didn't need to remember how sickening they truly were, but they were there and she couldn't block them out.

Rowen took actual pause for a moment, confused by the reaction and then took a step back when someone appeared on the scene…A very annoyed Sekhmet.

The Seasonal of Fall, like most everyone else in the house, had heard the altercation occur, and had been willing to leave it alone up until that point. Strata had gone way too far for his tastes.

Just as he made move to strike out at the archer, Cale grabbed the irate man by his shoulders…Cye, having come from the other direction, latched onto Rowen's arm and jerked him back.

"I suggest you get a hold on him, before I do," Sekhmet hissed out, eyes boring a hole into Rowen's skull.

"Working on it," Torrent's bearer replied in annoyance, "Not that easy. Kento, a little help would be nice!"

The Warrior of Strength had a grim look on his face, unable to believe what Rowen had done…Though, he had feared all along the archer might go this route.

Regardless of that, he quickly moved to help Cye subdue the spry archer who was putting up quite a struggle.

"Sekhmet this is the last thing we need," the Winter Seasonal gritted out, as he tightened his grip on the green-haired man's shoulders.

Sekhmet snapped his head back to glare at Cale, spitting out, "He had no right!"

"This was private you guys," Rowen growled out trying to shrug them both off. "Don't need your help."

"It's not a matter of you needing help," the Ronin of Trust snipped, "It's a matter of not feeling like cleaning blood off the walls."

Anubis watched all this warily out of the corner of his eye, since he had one arm protectively around Kayura as he tried to calm her down. His main concern was Dais, who was standing still though the anger was seeping off of him in waves.

Cale took notice that the Summer Seasonal looked fully prepared to throttle the Strata Ronin himself, and felt at a total loss…It took much to rile Dais, but once he was riled that was the end of it.

The Winter Seasonal lowered his voice, but made his tone clear…Oh he was angry sure, but he knew better than to lose his cool, "We promised Wildfire that we would not fight with his teammates, remember?"

Sekhmet let out an angry noise from his throat but stopped his struggling…Yes, they had promised it, knowing that if they were to get into any fights with the Ronin Elementals that Ryo would defend the Seasonals and take their side. They had not then, nor did they now, want to put him in such a position, it just wasn't right.

"Don't let that stop you," Rowen shot out, trying to loosen himself from Kento and Cye, but having little luck in doing so.

Sage was leaning back against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, in his traditional pose. Disproval was clearly written in his face, but he realized there was little he could do.

He let his gaze wander over to where Anubis and Kayura were standing, and shot the auburn haired man an apologetic look…The look was also meant for Kayura, but she did not look up.

Sage did feel terrible for her; she seemed so shaken by what had been said. Her face was still pale, and her body was slightly trembling. Anubis looked completely lost as he tried to soothe her, though somehow Sage knew the Spring Seasonal was aware how pointless it was.

Kayura had been slapped in the face, and punched in the gut at the same time. Her mind could not stop focusing on what the Ronin of Strata had said, and the truth in it.

She was at a total and complete loss, and the guilt that had been eating away at her for the past few months had now left her paralyzed.

Dais seemed to have been standing in the same spot forever before he finally moved…All he had done was taken one look and seen how badly Kayura had been affected and his mind was made up.

In a cold voice he said to Rowen's comment, "I don't plan too."

* * *

"Ugh this is ridiculous!" Ryo complained in irritation, sighing heavily through his nose.

The Ronin Leader was on his bed, unable to get up because a certain someone refused to let him move. Really, he was tired of being babied it wasn't like he was totally incapable of taking care of himself. That just seemed to be the common consensus around these parts, one he did not happen to agree with.

Brown-eyes calmly bore into his skull, _'You are not leaving this bed until Elayne says you're okay, cub, and that's final.'_

"I liked it better when I couldn't understand you word for word," the Wildfire Ronin grumbled out crossing his arms in front of his chest.

White Blaze let out a chuckle and got off the bed once Elayne reentered the room, he gave a slight nod to her in acknowledgement before settling down on the floor.

The girl raised an eyebrow at the tiger and then shook her head at him, quipping, "Stop harassing my patient, boy."

_'Don't feel like sharing?'_ the tiger taunted her.

Elayne gave a snort, "Get your mind out of the bedroom cat."

_'Seeing as how I am in one…'_

"Blaze, shuddup," Elayne groused at him, rolling her eyes skyward saying to Ryo, "All that time spent with you guys ruined him, he used to be sweet."

The majestic tiger let out a low growl and Ryo immediately protested, "Hey don't blame this on me! I had nothing to do with it."

"Whatever you say flirt," the girl waved him off as she kneeled down next to the bed.

"F-flirt?" Ryo indignantly sputtered looking at her in disbelief, he was so busy gaping at Elayne he missed the needle she easily placed into his arm. However, he did notice when she withdrew it; his eyes got saucer like as he stared at her.

"Got ya," Elayne cheerfully commented, saying, "Wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Ryo rubbed at the spot with a scowl, "You're evil, did you know that?"

"I do now," she quipped and then chuckled at the glare she was getting. "Come on Ryo, it was necessary and distracting a patient that doesn't like needles always helps. You guys are lucky Talpa didn't find out about this weakness of yours."

"Ha ha, very funny," the Wildfire Ronin grumbled as he leaned back into the bed, sighing heavily. "What's your diagnosis doc?"

"Mm," the girl went quiet for a moment as she tried to put it together in her head. "Well, you're definitely starting to recover from whatever it was, but your body is still pretty worn out. Whenever you try and do something too strenuous you cave in on yourself, meaning you pass out due to the strain."

"That's just great," the Ronin Leader huffed in complaint. "How am I going to fight, if I can barely stay conscious during my warm-ups?"

Elayne had disposed of the needle and returned to her position by the bed. Now, she gently fingered the jewel around her neck as if trying to decide on something. Without a word she leaned forward and brushed her lips against Ryo's forehead.

Ryo felt warmth rush to his cheeks from embarrassment. He blinked at the girl when she pulled back, and he tilted his head to study her. Wildfire's bearer had no idea what that had been for.

"There," she sighed out rubbing at her own forehead. "That should stop it from happening again, but you have to be careful Ryo. If you push yourself too hard too fast, there's no telling the damage you will do to your body."

"Thanks Elayne," he paused a moment, then sucked in a breath as he placed a hand to his forehead.

The girl gave a wince as she felt a sharp tug at one of the lines, and she might have turned her attention there…However, she, like Ryo, could hear all too clearly what was going on downstairs.

"Oh no, Rowen's…" the Ronin of Wildfire made move to get up, and let out a slight yelp when she gently pushed him back down.

"No Ryo," she quietly murmured as she settled her eyes onto his. "You and I had a deal, if such a fight were to happen and I deemed you unfit, I'd deal with it."

"You'd say I was unable to anyway Elayne," Ryo said with a snort, studying her out of the corner of his eyes. He was trying to be serious with her, hence his reason to avoid eye contact.

"You're right," the girl admitted quietly, smiling when he turned his attention back to her. She took his hand and grasped it in between hers, "Ryo, they are you're brothers…The Seasonals are your friends…Both groups are your responsibility, but you can't put yourself in a position where in order to defend the other you alienate the ones provoking."

"Elayne," Ryo began in protest but she silenced him with a shake of her head.

"You know I'm right," Elayne had a grim look on her face. "The guys won't know what to make of it, and Rowen would lash out at you. You're not well enough to deal with the added stress the consequences of that action would have, and you know it."

The Wildfire Ronin sighed through his nose, sure she had made the wording difficult but he got the point. "Like you can?"

"No, I can't," the girl admitted. "However, it won't debilitate me, like it would you. Ryo, please, just let me do this, okay? Stop trying to do everything by yourself."

"All right An-chan," he finally relented. "But, please, don't get hurt."

Elayne gave a wry grin, knowing that he was referring to the emotional hurt that would be possible, "Sorry, Ryo, that's unavoidable at this point."

Without another word, she left the room not bothering to close the door behind her…Knowing he would simply get up and open it anyway.

* * *

"Dais!" Cale and Anubis both snapped in the same breath. The two of them were angered by it sure, but they knew better than to let emotions get control of a situation…Something the Summer Seasonal also knew but was obviously ignoring.

"Cye, Kento let me go!" Rowen bellowed at them, "This _was_ a **_private_** matter!"

"You took it over the line," The Seasonal of Summer coldly stated, advancing another step, his eye narrowed at the archer in challenge.

Anubis sighed through his nose, this was great. The normally well too-composed Dais had lost his temper. That more or less meant Rowen was a dead Ronin.

Cale seemed to be thinking the same thing as he let go of Sekhmet, and gave a very hard 'yank' on the Summer Seasonal's mental line causing the man to stop in his advancing.

Dais turned a hateful glare to Cale, before returning his attention to the Ronin of Strata, only to be halted by a mild warning.

"Don't Dais," Kento could see the anger there, and knew he had to try and stop this from going into a brawl. However, if it was unavoidable, well he wasn't going to sit idly by. "I don't want to fight you, but so help me…"

"Anyone," a clipped voice announced. "Fights with anybody, and my foot is going to be inserted into them in a _very_ painful way."

Most eyes went upward spotting the girl who was leaning over the railing, a prominent scowl etched into her features. Sage didn't bother to glance up, knowing she would have ended up on the scene eventually. He knew she would have sensed the fluctuating anger even if she didn't hear the shouting.

"Who invited you?" the Water Ronin demanded sounding irked. Cye really didn't like these sort of confrontations and just did not want to deal with anymore antics.

"I did," Elayne flatly stated, jumping over the railing and landing on the floor. "If you have a problem with that, then you can leave, Cye."

The Seasonals could only look at the girl with mild astonishment, never before had they seen her snap at the Torrent Ronin. They didn't happen to be the only ones surprised at her attitude, Kento blinked several times, Rowen actually raised an eyebrow, and the graceful Sage came close to losing that perfect balance of his.

Cye frowned at her, his tone lost the edge it had held, "Everything all right?"

"No, Ryo's up there sicker than what he should be," the girl's tone remained clipped and irritated. "And things are loud enough down here for people back in the States to hear it. What's going on?"

"Mei mei, don't worry about it," the Hardrock Ronin reassured her, "Everything is fine."

Sekhmet gave a derisive snort to this, slipping into an older form of the Japanese language he said, **"Oh yeah, not if you count the fact Strata's being an ass."**

** "He normally is one,"** Elayne replied in kind, trying to ignore the raised eyebrows she got from the older men. "Hey if I can read the old dialect writing, I can speak it."

** "Ah," **Cale murmured, he had forgotten about that.** "Hardrock is right though, please do not concern yourself with this."**

** "It's too late for that Cale, just tell me what's going on," **the girl responded calmly, saying to the Elementals, "Unless one of you want to cough up what this is all about."

Silence was all she got in return from the young men, even Rowen seemed uninterested in having her become involved in this. The way he saw it, it was personal and everyone else was intruding and needed to back off.

He wasn't about to let anyone else get into this, especially Elayne who knew how to win arguments against him all too well. Not that he didn't know a few things that would punch a hole in her fight and get her to back off.

**"Elayne, it wouldn't be prudent," **Dais brought in now, still silently steaming. He didn't want her to get in the middle of this either, he and the others could handle this themselves.

"Anubis," Elayne walked out of the middle she had placed herself in to get closer to the Spring Seasonal. She knew full well that he would cough up the information, "Please tell me what happened."

The Seasonal of Spring let out a heavy sigh through his nose, not caring to say it aloud he merely told her mentally what transpired. The look on her face went from surprise to anger, and then back to neutral before she gave a bow of her head in thanks.

The girl calmly walked back to where she had landed, eyes narrowing at the Strata Ronin, "You said what?"

"You deaf now, An?" the archer felt anger rising up within him again. Oh, he had known it, known all along she would go and stick her nose in where it didn't belong. Kento still had a hold on the archer, and frowned when he caught Sage giving him a hard shake of his head.

_'What?'_ the Ronin of Hardrock queried.

Sage gave an exasperated sigh, _'Let him go, and stay out of it.'_

Kento did so, but raised both is eyebrows, _'Dude are you tripping? This isn't Elayne's problem it's ours.'_

_'No, it's Rowen's problem,'_ the bearer of Halo corrected him. _'We're getting in the way of something we shouldn't have, granted Rowen had no need to be so harsh, but us getting involved like this is merely making the situation worse.'_

_ 'And you're going to let Elayne diffuse it?'_ Cye cried across the mental line.

The corner's of Sage's lips twitched upward in amusement, _'If I remember correctly your response was to deck him when he pushed the wrong button. I think she can do far better.'_ He soon became serious, _'Besides, Kayura is her friend and this is her house. I've noticed that Elayne is good at diffusing these types of situations. I think it mainly has something to do with the Cimmerian Crystal.'_

_ 'Sage,' _Kento sounded exasperated himself,_ 'What's the real reason?'_

_ 'She just told me to stay out of it; I thought I'd pass the message along.' _

"Hasn't anyone told you," Elayne's voice was calm, and she kept her face that way with some effort. "That if you don't use that head in conjunction with that mouth of yours, that you're going to get into a world of trouble?"

Oh Rowen so did not appreciate that comment, for he was quick to retort, "You know about it well enough to lecture, personal experience comes in handy."

"You've got a lot of nerve," the anger was just starting to come through in her now. "Who do you think you are, anyway? What gives you the right to talk to people, like that?"

"I am Hashiba Touma," He answered coolly, "And I had every right to say what I did. You don't like it? Leave, nobody is asking you to stay."

Elayne shook her head in bitter amusement, "You really can be a stuck-up bastard Rowen. I can't say that I'm impressed."

"You're not supposed to be impressed," the archer's voice was flat as he spoke. "This was a private matter. It did not require more than half the house getting involved. It also has nothing to do with you."

The girl was inwardly frowning; she and Rowen had argued and fought when they were younger, but he had never been this angry. There was no reason for this almost pointless and persistent anger of his. It just didn't make any sense, what was really going on here?

"You're wrong," Elayne said in a cool tone, "It has everything to do with me. I gave you a place to stay when you had nowhere to go. You're here under my invitation. These are my friends, and I'm not going to tolerate this kind of fighting in MY house."

Rowen looked almost surprised to see her taking such an approach with him, "That another idle threat?"

"It's a promise," the girl flatly announced, "And you know I will have no qualms in going through with it."

The archer let out a chuckle, "So the perfect little girl that has had such a perfect life is going to lecture me? Cute."

Elayne froze for a moment, tilted her head just a fraction, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb," the Ronin of Strata narrowed his midnight blue-eyes. "You know what I'm talking about. Question is when were you going to come clean?"

They knew?! Elayne's eyes widened just a fraction, and she almost took a step back but refrained. No, don't show any shock over it…It might be nothing. He was just angry; for what reason she still didn't know…Rowen was talking just to talk, or was he?

"Rowen," Sage snapped in irritation, immediately knowing where this was going.

"You stay out of it," the archer spat back, before returning his sights to the girl. She had wanted to get involved in this, fine that was her decision. Rowen was not going to go easy on her, or anyone else that felt the need to lecture him like he was a spoiled little child. "Were you ever going to bother telling us the truth about you Elayne? That you don't even belong here? That you were more or less placed into this time?"

Kayura was listening and her eyes widened as her stomach churned…She had been the one to tell them, and now Rowen was using it against Elayne.

"So taking that into consideration," his midnight blue-eyes were flickering, "Who would you choose, huh? Us or them?"

Her head had immediately gone down upon hearing the earlier questions, but the minute he made his last comment her head sharply came up and her eyes narrowed. "If you treat your allies the way you do the Seasonals," her voice came out in a growl. "And treat your 'other' friends the way you treat me...Then I'm a hell of a lot better off with them than I am with you!"

Everything seemed to stop as those words left her mouth, and Elayne did her best to hide the fact she was shaking. Her eyes closed a minute and then she reopened them, letting out a loose breath but she would not back down.

Rowen could only stare at her in helplessness, it had been the slap in the face he needed. Disbelief tinted his features at hearing her words; it was just something his mind could not wrap around.

Kento also looked rather stunned, and Cye's eyes were wide in surprise…Sage was also staring at the girl shock present in his face.

"E-Elayne," Kayura nervously began, she had come out of her shell upon hearing Rowen's raised voice to the girl. "You-"

"Mean it," the girl was looking directly at the Ronin of Strata as she spoke. "You think I don't get it, that I have no way of understanding. I get it, you were hurt, and they damn near killed you. But I also understand the fact that they were lied to, or forced into working for that ass against their own will to begin with."

She paused taking a breath and glanced at the other three, "You're the ones who told me that a person's past actions, no matter how heinous, did not define their true character. That I shouldn't hold something against someone just because I didn't understand them, and that I couldn't base my assumptions on people simply because of what someone told me."

Elayne's eyes went back to Rowen now, "Are you trying to tell me that what you taught me was wrong? That I should hate, or be afraid of Kayura-tachi, simply because of the things you told me and the things you left me to assume?"

"So a case of the student coming back to beat the teacher over the head is it?" Strata's bearer snorted out. Oh he did remember telling her things like that when she was little, but he wasn't about to let this diversionary tactic of hers work.

Rowen took a step forward, "That's fine by me; I've got no problem with you siding with them."

Elayne shook her head, "It's not about sides Rowen! It's about what's right and what's wrong. Keeping up with this, trying to start a fist-fight? It's wrong and you know it."

"Would love to know where you come up with this stuff, and where you get off," He began taking another step, but he did not get a chance to finish.

Elayne moved forward, grasped the sweater he was wearing in her hands and gently pushed him back against the wall. Her resolve was starting to crack, she couldn't keep doing this. It was tearing her up inside.

"Please just stop it, Rowen," the girl murmured quietly. "I don't get it. I don't know if it's the armors pushing at you or your unresolved issues with your current past or the ones you can't remember. I don't know."

Her voice wavered a little, "All I know is I've never seen you, any of you, like this before. You're agitated and the anger is just getting the better of you. I'd rather deal with you guys back under that spell than like this."

It was Strata. The girl could all too keenly sense the growing unease in the armor. The agitation was merely leaking through and affecting Rowen. Looks like her offhanded guess had been relatively close to the truth.

Rowen took a pause then, shook his head a little as he felt whatever anger within him dispel, "Elayne…"

She pulled back, having done what she needed to do…The girl stepped back several more steps so that she was completely away from them, and closer to the Seasonals. Her shoulders were nowhere near as square as they had been, in fact it looked as if most of the breath had been taken right out of her.

Elayne looked up finally, eyes once again hard, "I meant what I said. Anymore of these types of arguments, ANY, from anyone and the invitation is gone. You'll have to find somewhere else to stay. No exceptions."

"Understood," a grim-faced Cye broke in, grasping the archer by the shoulder and tugging him back. That was the only comment he made to her, understanding that the tongue lashing had not simply been directed at Rowen, but at anyone within in ear shot. And, most of the house had been within ear shot.

Sage moved from his spot against the wall to cast a glance at the girl, their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before he gave a slight bow in acknowledgement and then walked off. The simple action was enough to put some color back into her face, and a bit of relief into her stance.

Kento had absolutely no emotion on his face at all, and Elayne briefly closed her eyes knowing what that meant.

She let out a loose breath, and reopened them noting he had turned to walk off, "Gege, where's the justice in it?"

The Ronin of Hardrock let a wry grin cross his face and he turned his head back to look at her, "That doesn't even deserve an answer, mei mei. Stick with your gut instincts; they haven't let you down yet." He disappeared further down the hall.

Elayne's breath came out in a whoosh and she sank back against the wall, slightly shaking her head to clear it. She could feel her tattered nerves, and the lingering adrenaline that was pumping in her veins.

She was not used to standing up to anyone like that, let alone the Ronin Warriors, and the fact that she had…Well, she took in a few slow deliberate breaths to calm herself down. What was done, was done there was no changing it.

"Why?" the white-haired Summer Seasonal spoke up now, eyeing her in confusion. It made no sense to him at all; there should be no reason for her doing what she had.

"You got in the middle of something you shouldn't have," the girl began slowly, strength starting to return to her now. "Rowen did go too far, but you egged him on. It was all Strata needed to further influence him."

"What?" Kayura queried in a soft tone, eyes slightly wide. She had thought she had sensed the armor's power, but she was so emotionally distraught…

Elayne pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's restless, agitated…All of them are actually, but Strata is exceedingly uptight. It's starting to frighten me, to be honest…They know something is coming."

She turned her head and her eyes landed on the Lady Ancient, "I am sorry, Kayura. Rowen's anger was real yes, but fueled from an outside source. And yes, he did mean every word of what he said."

The girl walked over to the woman, placed a hand on her shoulder, and murmured, "He just didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"Okay, first off," Sekhmet was obviously irritated that Elayne had started to put blame on them.

Kayura glared at the Fall Seasonal, "Shut up, she's right. He went too far, and you got involved, thus forcing the other Ronin to take part as well. This escalated more than what it should have. I realize you were trying to defend me, minna, but you didn't have to."

"Of course we don't," Cale said with a snort, rolling his eyes. "That does not mean we won't, should the need arise for it. However-" His attention had gone over to the girl, now, and Elayne knew that.

"Just stop it," Elayne's voice had taken on a flat tone to it now, her eyes had narrowed. "I was not putting blame on ANYONE, only pointing out that it takes two to fight and two to forgive. The blame is equal, the way I see it. And, if I recall right, I just sided with you guys."

She gave an irritated huff, taking pause when Anubis spoke, "Yes, and that doesn't answer why you let yourself get in the middle."

"I had to," the girl sighed out, having taken up her spot back by the wall; she leaned against it once more. "Number one, I consider you my friends. Number two, there's no way in _hell_ I was going to let Ryo put himself in that position."

"Clever girl," Dais murmured in acknowledgement, "If it were to come from him, that could put a horrible strain on their friendship, potentially break it. However, it seems you neglected to think about yours."

Elayne laughed lightly and shook her head, "No, Dais, I thought about it. I was planted into this lifetime, I got to know each of the Ronin and became so close to them we considered one another family. I also realize it has been a very long time since those days, and I'm not the same person. They made me who I am, I don't deny that, but I am still my own person. Push comes to shove and I think they are wrong, I'm going to tell them so."

She gave a sad smile, "So tell me how am I ruining a friendship that probably never existed before? That is barely existing now, and probably won't ever be the same anyway? Besides, I do consider you more than just acquaintances. What are friends for?"

"An-chan," Sekhmet began to lament, but she merely shook her head.

"You don't treat me like I'm someone that needs constant protecting, and even after all this time they still do," the girl murmured with a small grin. "I'm not helpless they know that, but won't admit it. You treat me as you would any other individual, and you've been nothing but kind to me. You have my respect for that and other things."

"Thank-you," Cale commented in acknowledgement of her words.

Elayne gave a bow of her head in respect, murmuring, "I tried to push Strata back, but I have no way of knowing how long it'll last. I am sorry for what happened, and wish you luck with whatever comes next. I will do my best to stay out of the way."

Anubis watched the girl retreat up the stairs, noting how she held her posture even until she vanished from their line of sight. He shook his head in belated amusement, "The girl was more shaped by them then even she realizes."

"Yes," Cale gave a slight inclination of his head signaling he agreed, "They taught her quite well."

"Mhm," the Lady Ancient gave a nod, a small frown on her face. Her mind was still reeling from the things Rowen had said to her, but also at the way Elayne defended them.

Dais seemed to be thinking along Kayura's lines, "I happen to think Universe's memories have influenced her as well. Are you all right Kayura?"

The woman gave a curt nod, "I'll be fine, thank-you all for your concern. However, if there is ever a next time, stay out of it. I do not want a repeat, especially if she, or Wildfire, has to get in the middle in order to end it."

The four Seasonals all nodded in agreement to this, and the five made their way down to the basement. While it might have been a rift in the day, there were still some things that needed to be taken care of.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you had a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday, and a Happy New Year! Here is your present from me; four chapters of Book 2 for you to read through. :-) _

_A/N about the chapter: I feel it is exceedingly important that I make this note. I did my best to portray this, but just so it is absolutely clear: Rowen is in no way the badguy in this situation. The Ronin of Strata is more than entitled to feel the way he does; he had every right to be upset and angry. Kayura was his rival, and out of the others he'd faced (excluding the head honcho Talpa {yes that was pun intended}), she put him the closest to death he'd ever been. He might not be carrying a grudge per se, but it's very hard to forget that kind of trauma let alone willingly forgive it. Especially for someone like Rowen who learned how to socialize from books (or my version of Ro, anyway. His parents were never really around, so I figure what he learned, he learned from reading). _


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

**Two Days Later**

* * *

Ryo sat down at the table with a cup of tea in his hand. The temperature had warmed up to the point where what would have been snow was now rain. Perhaps it was just as well, it had begun to rain late yesterday afternoon and the system showed no signs of moving off anytime soon.

The rain better suited his dour mood, oh sure he was feeling a lot better than he had been, but that did nothing to ease the concerns now weighing on his mind. The one that was on the surface was what had happened between the Strata Ronin and Elayne.

He felt awful about that, having heard every word exchanged all too clearly. He had understood why she left the door open, and the girl was right in that he simply would have gotten up to open it himself. What happened after she entered the room also bothered him.

_Elayne's face clearly showed the fact she was extremely distraught and that she also looked worn and tired now. Far different from how she had left the room, that was for certain._

_"You okay?" Ryo looked at her helplessly, and made move to get out of the bed. He halted when she held up her hand and shook her head no at his action._

_"It's fine," the girl finally responded in a disheartened tone, as she slid against the wall and sat down on the floor. "I don't believe I just did that." White Blaze padded over to her and rubbed against her emitting a low whine, purring when she stroked him._

_"Neither do I," while still concerned, Ryo was not dumb enough that he had missed the fact there was something behind her actions. "Why are you trying so hard to put up a barrier between yourself and the rest of us? Don't play games with me, Elayne, I know you."_

_She had not looked surprised to be found out, far too used to him calling on her 'bluffs,' "He backed me into a corner Ry. What was I supposed to do? Besides, the more distance the better."_

_"What for? Rowen says things faster than he can think about them; you said what you did on purpose," Ryo just could not wrap his head around it._

_Elayne gave a deep sigh, and paused in her stroking of the tiger, "I've been nothing but trouble and can easily bring you more. Trust me, it's better this way."_

_"What did you see?" He softly queried, tilting his head to study her._

_"Too much."_

Ryo's blue eyes refocused on the liquid in the cup he was holding, and he let out a heavy sigh. He could review it over in his head as many times as he wanted, but he'd never come any closer to understanding it. Plus, that was not the only thing he had to worry about.

The odd energy they had all been sensing, which had been steadily growing, had spiked not more than 7 hours ago. It had been traced back to its potential source, a large cave, that seemed to span on forever.

It was strange that the warriors had never really taken notice of it before…Regardless, the problem was what were they to do about it now? They were starting to run out of options, and no one knew that better than Ryo did.

The Ronin Leader placed his cup down on the table, and clasped his hands together as his eyes started to slide out of focus. Someone placed their hand on his shoulder and he immediately looked up to see who it was.

Cye had a frown on his face, "All right there, Ryo?" The Ronin of Torrent moved and then sat down across from the bearer of Wildfire.

"Sort of," he offered his teammate a half-smile.

The Torrent Ronin gave a nod, "What's on your mind this time? Or do I have to go to Kayura to get the information?"

Ryo chuckled at the man's stab of humor, but soon became solemn, "I'm just worried about what's transpired in the past few days."

"Ah, us finding this energy and that…" the Warrior of Trust paused and tried to pick out the right words, "Interesting event two days ago? Worried about Elayne are we?"

"Don't joke Cye, it's not funny," the Wildfire Ronin stood up then, "It's not what she said that got to me like it did you guys. Don't, I've never seen any of you so floored. It's why she said it, and the affect that's going to have. I just, I don't get it. I feel like I should have done something."

The Ronin of Torrent could not help but chuckle, "So what else is new? Ryo she never would have let anyone, especially you, put yourself into that situation. I have a feeling she knew _exactly_ what she was getting into. She even told us to stay out of it."

"Ya, but-" Ryo began to protest.

Cye held up a hand; he wasn't quite finished, "Elayne is her own person, if she feels the need to do something, who are we to talk her out of it? Nothing for nothing, she did help us out a great deal. Rowen's pretty much back to his normal self, albeit really guilty."

"Mmm," the Ronin Leader closed his eyes for a moment, "She said it was Strata. The armors are uptight because whatever they are sensing is bothering them…In trying to warn us, they're apprehension is leaking through. Whatever is up they obviously don't like."

"Elayne told you all that?" Cye was out and out gaping…He didn't realize she could pick up on that much.

"She wouldn't have had to if she did," Ryo commented, querying, "You mean to tell me, you can't feel Torrent?"

"Oh no, I can," the man was frowning, "It's odd, really, but the more this goes on, the more I can sense from it. But, you're right. Something is going to happen, and whatever it is they are livid about it."

Both of them fell silent for several minutes, pondering on things before Ryo broke it.

"So, when is this meeting supposed to start?"

The others had wanted to have a talk about what had been found, so it had been agreed they would all meet in the living room and discuss their options, and decide on a plan of action if one was necessary.

"Ten minutes," Torrent's bearer responded after checking his watch.

Ryo gave a snort and rolled his eyes, "I'll try and contain my excitement." He began to move out of the room, and Cye got up and followed behind him with a chuckle.

* * *

**Apartment Complex in Tokyo**

Amethyst eyes returned to the door in front of her, before she reached up with a pale hand and pressed the doorbell. Hotaru shifted her weight from one foot to the other, kept dry by the overhang on the building. Otherwise, she would have gotten drenched waiting for a response.

Then again she already was, having allowed Amara to drive her over here on the motorcycle. But, the Senshi of Saturn tended to take what she got. Besides, she had never minded the rain that much anyway.

Hotaru did not have very long to wait, she could hear the sounds of someone moving around inside. The door opened but a few short seconds later.

"Yea-" a rather pre-occupied Elayne opened the door, but quickly let out a small smile, "Come in, imouto."

Hotaru quickly stepped inside, shedding her coat and slipping into a pair of slippers that had been laid out for her, "Thanks, Nee-san. Expecting me?"

"Mhm," the girl had vanished into the kitchen and now re-emerged with a tray of tea. "I sensed your energy 'bout twenty minutes ago. Need a towel?"

"No thanks, roads are drenched anyway," the youngest of the Senshi answered, taking the cup as it was offered to her. "Are you all right? You don't look well."

"I'm fine," Elayne tiredly responded sipping at her tea. "Too much work I'm afraid. Add to that all the negative energy, and it equates to one over-exhausted yours truly."

"I see," Hotaru was quiet for a few minutes before speaking again. "Part of why I wanted to come see you. Plus, I have been kind of worried after what transpired the other day. You left without saying goodbye to anyone."

"Didn't realize I had to send out farewell cards before I go to work," Elayne joked not willing to discuss the topic at this point.

The ploy didn't work as the Senshi of Saturn failed to be amused seeing right through it, "You've been acting strange since December. It isn't like you. Nor was getting into the middle like that."

"You don't know everything about me imouto. Standing in the way, is very much like me," the girl placed her cup down, agitation starting to slip through into her features.

Hotaru could see the tension in her body, and opted for a different tactic. Her voice lowered and she put down her own cup, "There's a storm coming, Nee-san."

Elayne went from tense and agitated to tired and solemn, "I know."

The Warrior of Saturn let out a sigh now understanding what was likely going through Elayne's head. She knew what was coming, and was trying to distance herself to keep out of their way.

"But," Elayne offered the Senshi a grin, "You've weathered plenty of other storms. So, I'm sure you'll make it through this one too."

"You don't sound that confident," Hotaru pointed out. "Not as sure as you normally do anyway."

"Sometimes imouto," the girl got to her feet and let out an exasperated sigh, "You're worse than Seiji-nii-chan."

"I try," the amethyst-eyed teen quipped, before deciding to press again. "Nee-san, please just tell me what's really bothering you."

"I know you popped over here just before having a meeting with the others. I heard you traced the energy back to its source," she paused when Hotaru gave a nod, and then continued. "I know you all; you are definitely going after it. Once you get into that place, it's going to be an uphill struggle all the way. "

Elayne's eyes slipped out of focus, "It's been bothering me for days. And even now, you go through with this, and all I see is death."

Hotaru waited for her to come back and then sit down, before giving a nod, "I know, I've seen it also. The question is though, what are you going to do about it?" Hotaru's amethyst eyes locked onto Elayne's hazel-violet ones, "Nee-_sama_."

The girl was back on her feet in an instant, not having missed the intentional emphasis placed on the honorific. Her eyes were wide with shock, but she quickly got her emotions back under control. Really, she knew better than to be surprised.

She threw the Senshi of Saturn a wry grin, "Oh, I'll come up with something."

"You always do," Hotaru finished for her, getting up now.

Elayne laughed but the amusement quickly left and she became grim, "Be careful Hotaru. This, most likely, will not end well."

"I know," the Senshi of Saturn gave a nod, and then grinned. "See you later, Elayne-nee-san."

She gave a bow of her head and then exited the apartment, leaving Elayne to only stand there and shake her head. The girl rolled her eyes, "Figures she'd know."

* * *

Outside on the Street

"Well?" Amara raised an eyebrow, leaning against her motorcycle. The rain had died down to a slight drizzle, but the sidewalk and streets were soaked and puddles had formed at the spots that were not level.

Hotaru was solemn faced, "She felt what Rei and Sage did, and saw the same thing I did."

"Ah," the blonde handed over a helmet for the younger Scout before slipping onto her bike. "You never did say what you saw Hotaru-chan."

"For me to know," the Senshi of Saturn responded, before snapping the visor on the helmet down.

The Warrior of Uranus gave a soft snort to this, but didn't bother to try and pry for further information. She happened to understand that Saturn only got warnings when they were important, and would only reveal them if they were so grave intervention was needed.

Either intervention was not needed, or Hotaru had come to the conclusion things would work out on their own. Amara did not spend anymore time worrying about it, she started the bike and they sped off. It probably would not have been very kind to keep the others waiting. Supposedly this meeting was going to be important.

She doubted it though, it wasn't going to be anymore than a restatement of facts they already knew, a decision needed to be made about what to do, things like that. Really? The way she saw it the whole thing was pointless, but it wasn't like having a plan would kill them. Of course, having one wasn't going to help them very much anyway.

* * *

**Back At The Mansion**

Rowen flipped through a book on ancient Japanese mythology, before gently casting it aside. He rubbed at his temple, and leaned back in the chair letting out a strangled sigh.

It was impossible for him to focus on anything. Anytime he tried to sit down and do something, the image would pop into his head. The look on Kayura's face as her resolve cracked, and how he had just kept going.

The Ronin of Strata had been right in saying what he did; it had needed to be said. For as much as his own good as anyone else's; he would have never been able to move past it, if he had not confronted her.

Now, though, he just wished what he had said had come out differently than what it did. He also regretted the fact that it had come very close to turning into an international incident.

One or two others, and it might have been all right he would not have overreacted, but all the armor wearers? It had only served to put Rowen further on edge. If Elayne hadn't stepped in and nipped it in the bud like she had, the archer knew very well things would have gone a lot worse.

It never had to go as far as it did, but Rowen couldn't change that now. He would just have to deal with the guilt, and find a way to apologize which was not going to be a simple task, but he'd try at any rate.

"Yo, Ro!" Kento called out, poking his head into the study and then frowning, "You're not reading?"

Rowen quickly snapped back to the world around him at hearing the Hardrock Ronin's voice, "Nah, have a headache. What's up?"

"Time for the group powwow," the Warrior of Strength announced.

"Oh hell," the blue-haired archer groused as he got to his feet. "Is it even necessary to have it?"

"Probably not," Kento admitted as the two walked out of the study and started down the hall. "But, we're going to have to do this anyway. Might as well have a game plan."

"AH!" the Ronin of Strata quickly grasped at his heart. "You learned something from Sage after all!"

Kento rolled his eyes skyward, reached up a hand and smacked the archer in the back of the head.

"OW!"

* * *

"All present and accounted for," the leader of the Elemental Senshi announced, taking note that Darien had just now joined them.

The living room was oddly quiet considering just how many people were in it, but something hummed just in the background. The air was thick and heavy, and the silence just seemed to add to the tension.

"All right," Ami rubbed at her forehead, "So, we all know Cye and Sage managed to trace the energy back to its source. Most, if not all of us by this point, have gone to check out the cavern."

"We know all the highly sensitive ones have looked," Lindsay snorted out. "But, what's the verdict?"

"Back when I was able to connect," Rei gave a shake of her head, "I was shown briefly what would occur. And this energy now, seems to match what I felt from that vision. It unnerves me."

"I don't like it either," Vanessa had a scowl on her face. "This energy isn't negative, it's downright vile."

Hotaru said nothing, not really willing to take part at this point. What she had seen was for her eyes only, and whenever she got such warnings she tended only to make them known if they called for desperate measures. This one, in her opinion, did not require such action.

The Seasonal were listening to the ongoing discussion rather intently, but at the same time they were having one of their own.

_'Trap?'_ Anubis offered up in suggestion.

Dais gave a slight nod, _'Undoubtedly. Otherwise we would have noticed this anomaly before.'_

_'Are they that desperate to have Inferno's power?'_ Sekhmet mentally grunted.

Cale was quick to point out the answer with a question of his own, _'Exactly how desperate was Talpa?'_

Sage snorted deeply, and the ongoing verbal discussion halted as everyone looked at him. His violet eyes, however, were on the Seasonals, "Pretty desperate. You guys project your conversation any louder and Elayne'll pick it up."

"I think it stinks you guys can communicate mentally and we can't," Mina lamented.

"Be grateful you can't," the nine men simultaneously said, and then all of them looked at each other and blankly stared.

Kayura bit down a laugh, "Where's the Ancient? He witnesses something like that and he'll die, again."

Ryo gave a shake of his head in amusement, but then steered things back to the topic, "Sage, Cye? What do you two think?"

The two men exchanged looks with each other, and both frowned. After a moment Sage gave a nod to the unspoken question Torrent's bearer had posed, and Cye finally spoke.

"It's a way into Akemliek's domain, it has to be."

"Here on the Estate property?" Callista blinked, slightly taken aback, "Are you guys serious?"

"That makes sense," Michelle brought in now. "What other explanation is there? Think about it. The Raikken always seem to be lurking around the forest, why would they be there unless the entrance is nearby? They are rarely in the city, unless we happen to be there ourselves."

Sekhmet gave a nod to this, "Yes, and not to mention there are demon wards on every building in this area. Why would they be there, unless there was an imminent threat?"

"Makes sense," Lita admitted. "Doesn't mean it's good though and why haven't we noticed before? Why are we only seeing this now?"

Kento had noticed that the Senshi of Saturn had tensed upon hearing this, and now he could see the agitation in her small form, "Hey, Hotaru, you okay?"

"This land is scarred," she murmured in a quiet tone. "Too much has happened in this area, destruction as well as death. That residual energy masks the negative signatures, it's why we haven't noticed before. Since the enemy is letting more leak out, we can sense it now. They are waiting for us to make a move, because theirs is ready to go."

Destruction and death? Ryo had done his best not to outright wince when she had said that. With his memories back, he knew one horrible truth. Not even a mile from where this mansion stood is where Akemliek had slaughtered them…All of them.

"Good, so we all do agree that this is a trap, right?" Kirstin queried, not surprised when everyone nodded. "And that were stupid in walking straight into it?"

Serena let out a despairing sigh, "Yeah. We also know we don't have a lot of options left, right?"

Those words gained another long silence. Every person there knew it, but it was not something they wanted to admit. Walking into traps by accident was something they had all done at one point in the past, or another. But willingly walking into one, especially when the enemy they were facing them was hell-bent on killing them?

No, that was something new. Something they weren't quite sure they had to try. It had always been different before. They had always been fighting with their lives on the line for the good of the planet. Not fighting just so that they could survive.

Nobody wanted to say it aloud, so Rowen did.

"Yeah," the archer acknowledged. "But at this point, what other choice do we have? None."

Kayura was grim-faced, "Rowen is right. We're all thinking it, might as well say it. We are going to go through with this, because we're not the types who are going to keep sitting on the side-lines like this. Let's put it to a vote anyway though, all those for going?" Every hand went up, including her own.

"Unanimous," Trista announced, not like she was surprised. She rather knew how this went.

Serena eyed Darien, saying, "Looks like you luck out."

"Huh?" the young man blinked in confusion.

"Dude," Kento tried not to laugh at him. "You have to fly out to Osaka tomorrow remember?"

Darien rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Well, I could-"

"No," the blonde shook her head, "Don't skip out on your responsibilities. We'll be fine. Besides, from what Universe told the Outers, this isn't our fight anyway. We're just supposed to offer assistance."

"Wait, she actually showed herself to you all? _Finally_?" Rowen queried raising a blue-eyebrow.

"No," Ami shook her head. "She's done intervening we're sure, but she's not made a point of announcing the fact that it's her."

"And we only saw Neo-Universe," Amara pointed out, all of the armor bearers stared at her with blank expressions on their faces, except for Ryo.

"What was her future form doing here?" Wildfire's bearer inquired with a frown.

"Nee-sama decided the information we were getting wasn't good enough," Hotaru answered not taken aback by the question like Amara and Michelle were. "That, and the future she came from, Rini's future, was in bad shape when she left it."

"Great," Ryo groused, basically sulking in his chair now. "Meaning she couldn't change anything more there, and had to come back here to meddle. Cute."

"She already has," Kayura murmured, gaining the room's attention. "And the result is things are occurring at a more rapid rate. Whether it helps in the long run, we will have to wait and see."

Yes, and for right now they had to focus on the task at hand. This meant coming up with a plan of action they could all agree to, and then carrying it out. An hour later said plan had been hammered out. All that remained was for it to be put into action, which would occur soon enough.

* * *

_A/N: I realize I do this often, but anyone who has watched subtitled anime will under the use of the honorifics. For those of you who really don't I recommend locating Nina's YST FAQs, and looking at her _Simple Japanese: -san, -kun, -chan, -sama(K) _section._

_Imouto: little sister_

_Nii-chan: older brother_

_Nee-san: older sister_

_Nee-sama: this also means older sister, however the honorific 'sama' is used in this case to denote higher respect. You're all welcome to guess why this is ;)_


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Later That Day **

* * *

The Ronin of Torrent fiddled with the phone for a moment before dialing the number and placing the object to his ear. That was what most of the warriors were doing right now…

Spending time with their families, letting them know that they were going to be busy for a bit, and then informing their bosses and co-workers that they had to take some personal days due to a family emergency.

It wasn't a lie really, it was an emergency, just didn't really fall under 'family' standards. Really, there was no telling how long they'd be gone for.

Or, the thought jumped into Cye's mind before he could stop it, if they would come back from this at all. He would not get time to dwell on this further as someone finally picked up.

"Moshi, moshi? Mouri residence, Ryuusuke speaking."

Cye gave a grin at hearing his brother-in-law's voice, "'Ello, how are things?"

"Cye! Nice to hear from you," Ryuusuke paused a moment to reprimand someone after there was the horrifying crash in the background. "Sorry, you're darling nieces are being terrors. Other than that, all is well here."

Here the Ronin of Torrent could not help but chuckle. The "darling nieces" would happen to be the twins Sayoko had given birth to, and they had just recently turned five. Cute as buttons that was for certain, but more disastrous than a cyclone.

"Ah, at least things are the same as usual there," Cye chuckled out, "How's Mum?" As everyone knew, the woman had always been in ill health. The weak heart she had been born with had simply worsened with each trying life trial. Yet, the last time Cye had seen her, this past December, she had looked radiant, full of health to go with her zest for life.

"The doctors are simply amazed at how well she is doing," he answered. "The family physician said this is the best health she has ever been in, and getting better."

Cye frowned a little; he still had yet to come up with a reason for his mother's improving health. It just seemed odd to him, not that he wasn't thankful, that after all this time she would suddenly show signs of improvement.

"That's splendid," the Water Ronin remarked, letting his thoughts remain private. "Is she managing the store today?"

"No, she's right here, let me get her for you," Ryuusuke said, before placing down the phone. Cye was permitted a snort when he heard the man bellow at his daughters again, after a larger crash had occurred…The children were laughing at whatever they had done.

The bearer of Torrent stretched a little as he patiently waited, and then smiled when his mother picked up the phone with the query, "How is my samurai?"

"Well, thank-you," Cye answered. "Yourself?"

"Oh, I'm sure your brother has already told you," Mrs. Mouri remarked in mirth. "But, I'm feeling better than I have in a long time. An really does know what she is talking about, what she suggested has worked wonders."

"Elayne?" Cye pursed his lips at hearing this.

"Yes," the woman replied. "Earlier last year, when I was hospitalized because of a larger failure, An was a dear heart and looked over the treatments the doctors had me in. She decided, from a professional stand point, that a less rigorous plan might suite me better."

Mrs. Mouri gave a pause, "I guess her being so intuitive is because she's a shaman's granddaughter. Our doctors may value the older ways still, but she seems to actually understand the ways better than they do. In any case, she suggested I start taking some herbs, our doctor had not thought of. I've been following her suggestions for the past six months, and it really has helped."

"That's great Mum," the Ronin of Trust responded, a frown once again on his face. He wondered why Elayne had never bothered to tell him about this? He shook his head a little, he knew better…When it came to other people's health, and helping, she never said a word. She disliked getting credit for things she felt she had to do.

"Now then, what's the matter dear? You don't call any other day than Thursday unless something is wrong," She was always able to tell when something was amiss, even if he didn't break his set pattern of calling.

Cye could only smile, "Far too obvious, aren't I? We found the root of the problem, we think. We're going to follow it to where it may lead us. I just wanted to let you know that I could be gone for a while. No way of knowing when I will be back."

The woman on the other end of the line was silent for several minutes, before she spoke, "Ah, I see. Then good luck to you Shin, darling. Please be careful. You and the others take care of each other."

"Don't worry Mum, we always do," the Torrent Ronin reassured her. "We'll be back as soon as we can. I love you."

"And I you."

* * *

Rini was sitting in the living room, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She had been informed that she was going to stay behind, and that it was for her own safety. Diana, Luna, and Artemis would be remaining as well, sent over to the Tsukino family residence for the time being.

The child from the future was not at all pleased with this set-up. She was just as much a part of this as the other warriors were. Yet, she did understand their reasoning that she would be safer out of harms way. That didn't mean she had to like it though.

Diana was aware that her charge was quite unhappy with how things were turning out. However, there really wasn't a need to be so sour about it.

Rini let out a sigh through her nose and leaned back into the couch, as she listened to the other Senshi converse amongst themselves. She perked up when the Sailor Elementals walked back into the house.

Apparently, everyone had made the calls they needed to. All families had been notified of what was going on, bosses had been told a family emergency had come up, and the same thing to co-workers.

"Just got done talking to my folks," Kirstin said with a nod, "So, yeah everyone has been informed.

"Oh really?" Rini had turned around and was peering over the back of the sofa. "Did any of you bother to tell Elayne?"

The entire house went dead silent after hearing that, and Rini let out a low moan.

She then exclaimed in complaint, "Then I wonder why my future is such a mess, ugh! You guys are scary, in addition to being cowards. Guess, _I'll_ go call her."

"Don't worry about it Rin," Lita assured, but the girl merely scowled.

"Cye's taking care of it," Ryo brought in having entered the room, hearing the commotion. "If anybody can pacify her, it's him." Actually, that was a lie Elayne could easily butt heads with Torrent…Ryo had seen that. The only person, he knew of, that was remotely capable of calming her was Kento.

Hotaru watched this all with a belated amusement, there really was no point in calling Elayne. She already knew what was going on, but there was no need for the others to know that…Not yet, anyway.

* * *

Cye pinched at the bridge of his nose for a minute. He had the phone in his hand, but was still trying to figure out what to say. For one thing, the Ronin of Torrent knew Elayne was not going to be happy when she heard about what they intended to do. Second of all, he had no idea how she was going to take to hearing one of them after that fight. She had left the house not even two hours after getting into the midst of the confrontation, and had not said a thing to anyone before she left.

Anytime he'd tried to call her within the past two days, she had not picked up and nor had her answering machine. Obviously, she had no real desire to talk to anyone even if she wasn't at home. Finally, Cye decided to stop procrastinating and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a tired voice answered, then added, "You forget something Ro?"

"Did he actually call you?" Cye queried raising an eyebrow.

Elayne let out a light chuckle, "Yeah a while ago, he felt like a heel. He called to apologize, told him I was grateful, we agreed no hard feelings, but he still had to talk to the one he really hurt. What can I do for you Cye?"

"Hey are you okay?" he was alarmed, a frown having crossed his features now, she sounded exhausted.

"Pulled a double-shift," the girl admitted. "I just haven't been able to fall asleep, so I'm sitting here re-arranging the apartment. Speaking of, do you want me to extend the contract? It's coming up for expiration soon."

"Yes, if you don't mind," the Water Ronin answered. "I expect I'll be able to use the place soon enough. Which brings me to the point of my calling."

"Uh oh, let me sit down," Elayne moaned out, apparently falling into a seat just judging by the umphh of a chair cushion.

Cye waited until he was sure she was sitting, "First, I'm a bit relieved to hear that Rowen did call you. I was worried about you."

The girl gave an impatient snort, and her voice became dry, "I'm not the type who's going to kill herself because she willingly got into a tiff with a friend."

"No, but leaving you to stew over your decisions isn't a good idea either," the Ronin calmly stated. "You're not self-destructive per se, but if something were to happen you'd take the beating as your just punishment. I know you."

He could just see her rolling her eyes and weighing the cordless phone in her palm judging how far it'd go if she hurled it at the wall and the awful noise it'd make into his ear.

Luckily, she decided against such course of action, and irritably asked, "What else did you want, Red?"

"Dunno if Ro mentioned it, he probably didn't though. You seem to have a vague idea of what's going on," Cye heard her go 'mhm' so he continued, "We're leaving tomorrow."

He winced when she actually dropped the phone, heard her curse as she scrambled to pick it up, and practically bellowed into his ear, **"_Are you all out of your MINDS?"_**

Man, he was so glad she was tired, he'd hate to have _heard_ her reaction if she were wide-awake and completely coherent. He then frowned because she had gone dead silent.

"Elayne? Are you all right?"

She didn't answer his question, merely whispered trying to come to grips with this, "You can't be serious…This has got to be a joke-" She shook herself out of her stupor, and went to demanding. "Cye, if I had realized you guys were this delusional I would've recommended therapy! Do you have _any_ idea of what you are getting yourselves into?"

The Ronin of Torrent had expected her to be distraught over this; of course he hadn't expected her emotions to be all over the place like they were either. But, maybe part of that had to do with the fact she was mentally worn out, and right now he wasn't helping.

"We know it's dangerous," He said in a soothing tone. "Yet, we also realize we're at a stalemate and we need to spring this trap before they come up with something worse. This game of cat and mouse is getting old, and you know we're tired of this Elayne."

"That's it," her tone was full of bewilderment. "You really have lost your minds." She shook her head hard, saying bitterly, "You have no clue what you're doing, none."

"E-" Cye closed his mouth, and turned around when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He was slightly surprised to see the Ronin Leader standing there, a grim look on his face.

"Let me talk to her Cye," he murmured out, closing his eyes and exhaling heavily.

The Ronin of Trust nodded, saying into the phone, "It'll be fine, An, we'll be careful. I have to go, but I just wanted to let you know what was going on."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "You better be careful, or we're going to have issues, you and I."

He chuckled at that, "All right, goodbye. Oh, and Ryo wants to talk to you." He quickly handed the phone over to Wildfire's bearer before letting her get a word in edgewise. She didn't even get the time to utter an annoyed exclamation before Ryo was on the line.

"I know," Ryo began in a quiet tone. "We're playing right into their hands, and the others get that too. Since we know, we have a better chance at avoiding the trap."

"Like a snowball's got a chance in Death Valley mid-summer," Elayne retorted.

Ryo could obviously see that his attempts to re-assure her were failing miserably. He paused a moment, checked to make sure no one was around, and then said, "Look, if we get in over our heads, we'll be fine. I know we will make it out of this all right."

"How can you?" she ran a hand through her hair, and let out a strangled sigh.

"Because I believe in everyone here," the Ronin of Wildfire paused for a moment, and then added in a calm tone, "And that includes you."

"Huh?!" the girl lost her hold on the phone again, but caught it before it hit the floor.

Ryo could only chuckle at her reaction, "I don't mince my words either, you know?" He let that settle in before saying, "It'll be okay, Elayne. It might get to a point where it's a close call but we'll pull through. Don't we normally?"

"Yeah, you do," the girl conceded, keeping her other thoughts to herself. "Please be careful, Ryo…I don't know what I'll do if anything happens to you and the guys."

"You'd manage," Wildfire's bearer gently teased. "Stop worrying so much, we'll be careful. See you soon."

"Good luck," Elayne proceeded to hang up the phone; she then got up and put it back on the charger, while hitting the box so that if the phone rang it'd immediately take the person to the answering machine. She didn't think she could handle anymore conversations at this point.

She then walked to her room and flopped onto the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest, and wrapping her arms around them. Elayne had never doubted them before, and nor was she doubting them now. But there was a difference between feeling something foul going to happen, seeing it, and actually knowing for a fact it was going to happen.

Unfortunately, she had full knowledge…Knew exactly how bad it was going to be down there for them, and how very close to losing they would come. They could be killed; all of them…All over again…And where would that leave her?

The Senshi of the Universe had not become involved with the warriors, originally, until it was almost time for them to defeat Thanos. That was when the Scout had first asserted her presence, and then made it a point for them to know it was her. Everything was different now though; things were going to be far worse for them.

And unless something was done, the death Elayne knew would occur could not in anyway be prevented. Thanos would succeed in delivering a crushing blow to the warriors unless someone intervened.

_ 'Don't-'_

The girl's eyes flickered slightly, and she let out a loose breath, "It's too late for that, Simoria. I've made up my mind."

_'Very well,'_ there was not another comment from her.

* * *

Ryo gently placed the phone back into the cradle, before running a hand through his hair. There, he had told her…He had not directly stated it, but simply implied what had been nagging him for the past few weeks.

By her reaction he knew she had understood his implication, or at least he hoped she got it. He looked up when he felt eyes on him, and threw Sage a wry grin.

"Well, I think she bought it."

The swordsman gave a soft snort to this, and shook his head, "She merely agreed to humor you, Ryo."

"Oh why can't you go burst Rowen's bubble or something?" the Ronin Leader grumbled as he walked past.

Sage chuckled at this, and followed behind him, "That gets old real quick."

Ryo rolled his eyes, he should have never posed such a question to the Halo Ronin; he knew better than that. Upon entering the living room and having almost everyone stare at him, Ryo gave a shrug to the unspoken question.

"She thinks we're out of our minds," he commented, adding, "I didn't have the heart to tell her we always were."

The room was filled with laughter and nods in agreement to the statement, before what awaited them quickly came to the forefront of their minds once more. This path was certainly not going to be easy, but everything else in their lives had been set up before hand…Maybe this one time they could change their own fates…Maybe.

"Come on folks, it's going to be a big day tomorrow," Kirstin announced getting to her feet, "Sleep is in order for all of us. That would be including you late birds."

Cale gave a snort to this rolling his eyes, but he made no retort to it. Probably because Kayura was boring a hole into his skull with her eyes, and looked ready to whap him upside the head with the staff.

There was no need for further discussion as everything that had been planned earlier was already memorized. No other comments were made as they dispersed into their groups, and made their way to the rooms.

However, the Ronin Warriors lagged behind…The five young men waited until the last door was shut before exchanging looks with one another and subsequently nodding.

"We're in for it this time," the archer spoke up, a frown on his face.

Kento waved him off, "It's no big deal, we've dealt with everything else that's come at us. We should pull this off without a-"

"Don't," Ryo cut him off with a low moan, "Because Rowen said the exact same thing to Mia and we got our asses lambasted."

Cye chortled at hearing this from the Wildfire Ronin, but quickly became serious, "Do we really know what's in store for us this time?"

"Do we ever?" Sage brought in with a half snort. "The way I see it, we've been fighting by the seam of our pants since we were fourteen, why change now?"

The other four merely stared at him, and Sage blinked, "What? What did I say?"

"Uh, never mind," Rowen said slowly shaking himself out of a stupor. "Question is though, anyone comfortable about leaving Elayne behind? I'm not."

He shifted uneasily when his friends turned their attention to him, "Look, I was stupid, I admit it. I also know it would've been fine if most of you woulda minded your own business."

The bearer of Strata paused for breath, "She got into the middle, and I shouldn't have forced her into making such a choice, but she did and it's just as well. She's not weak in anyway, I just don't like the thought of the enemy going after her while they have us preoccupied."

"No, you're right," Ryo brought in with a frown. "I'll have Blaze keep an eye on her, seeing as how he adores her anyway. Let's try and get some rest, eh guys?"

"Ya right," the other four snorted in one breath, before shaking their heads in belated amusement and making their way up the stairs. Ryo watched them go, and then turned to look where White Blaze was standing.

"You heard?" the Ronin of Wildfire queried.

The tiger gave a nod in acknowledgement, _'Yes, near every word.'_

"Would you mind keeping watch over her, boy?"

_'It isn't a problem Rekka-cub,'_ White Blaze chuckled out, padding over and gently butting into Ryo's leg. _'Just take care of yourself out there.'_

"I will," he gave a nod watching as the tiger, pushed open the front door and grabbed the knob with his tail slamming it shut behind him.

Ryo gaped for a minute before recovering and rolling his eyes, "So that's _how_ he does it. Next time he tries to get me to open the door pretending he can't, I'm not buying the act."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

* * *

Her breathing had been steady before, she had been in a sound and restful sleep, and all of a sudden she bolted into wakefulness. Amara's eyes darted about the room as they tried to come into focus. She strained to hear what might have startled her awake, but the only sound she could discern was that of her roommates peacefully sleeping.

The woman ran a hand through her short blonde hair, it clinging slightly to her forehead. Now she was frowning, she never woke up unless something hit her senses. Be it sound, or smell...Normally there was a reason for her to have awoken so abruptly, but she couldn't find anything.

Nothing seemed out of place...Her eyes strayed to the window, as she noticed it was still raining.

"What is up with that?" She murmured to herself, before casting the blankets aside and leaping out of the bed.

There, she had sensed it only briefly...A power. She had heard the sounds of someone walking before; she only assumed this because she heard footsteps now.

"I'm going to get soaked," she grumbled irritably, but as her hands touched the door handles and pushed the doors open the rain died down to a light mist. She did not miss this at all, and her eyes narrowed, as she called out, "Who's there?"

Someone just out of her line of vision jumped down from somewhere above her...And she almost tensed, but then there was that power again...Something she knew and remembered, and she relaxed.

"Yo," Universe calmly greeted slipping out of the shadows, to sit on the balcony railing. "Been a while, hasn't it Haruka-chan? Though, you aren't called that now. It's Amara-chan, ne?"

"Uni," the Sailor of Uranus couldn't help but grin at seeing her. "Stopped hiding, at long last? Neo had to come and see us."

The Scout gave what sounded like a 'hmph,' "I know, but really there wasn't any other way. There's only so much I can get around, without putting the future in more jeopardy than what it is."

Amara gave a nod, "I understand, and without risk to yourself." She had noted there was far more white in the Senshi's hair than what should have been.

"The risks to my own being are inconsequential," Universe waved Uranus off. Before saying with a grin, "You must be restless, if you woke up. I've visited Kayura like this several times without anyone waking up."

"Maybe a little anxious," the woman paused. "Is that why you didn't slink off?"

Universe was true to her nature and gave an evasive answer, "Perhaps."

Amara could almost sense the change in the elder Scouts mood, "You don't have to worry about us. We're capable of taking care of ourselves, the Ronin included. Though I know you love bailing them out."

Universe laughed gently at the teasing, "Oh I know you're all capable. And hey, it's not my fault I had to actually inform them I was helping them out! Plus, when I helped you out in the past lives I was always rather visible. Can't do for one group, and not the other, don't want my charges getting jealous." Here the woman smirked, "You bicker enough as it is."

The Sailor of Uranus chuckled at that, "Good point. Hey, if you didn't do something you'd get into trouble right?"

"Exactly."

"Kinda like that time, you," Amara began, but halted at the look on the Scout's face.

Universe proceeded to cough, "Ya, something like that. Since we're sitting here talking, be careful Uranus-chan. I know you're not helpless or weak, but without your memories you all could be no more than sitting ducks." The Scout got to her feet now, sighed and shook her head, "And don't think they won't play that to their advantage because they will."

The woman gave a solemn nod to the statement, and the Scout began to walk off. Amara thought for a moment before posing the question currently on her mind, "When are you going to reveal yourself to us?"

That got her to halt...She knew the implications in those words. When was she going to appear to them in a form other than that of a Senshi? Universe let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair...She was no closer to an answer to that now than she had been before.

Yet, with the knowledge of what exactly would go on after the warriors set foot into the trap, and just how bad it was going to get...She did have some sort of an answer.

Universe glanced back at her and grinned, "Get rid of that seal, Amara-chan. Then I might think about it." She gave a wink, before saying, "Be careful, good luck. See ya!"

"Later Uni," the woman told her, watching as she jumped down to the ground below...Only to slip into a shadow a moment later and vanish. Amara let out a resigned sigh, before walking back into the room and gently closing the doors behind her.

The conversation had done nothing to lift her spirits, but there was nothing to be done. Not right now anyway, sleep was calling her...And she was going to need it, especially with what lay ahead.

* * *

**Later That Morning**

Lita gave a soft sigh, emerald eyes scanning the forest that lay just beyond the clearing where the mansion was situated. The rain continued to fall; it was as if it were a never-ending blanket of falling water had decided to cover this part of Japan. Yet, it suited the mood of the situation, things were already grim and there was a potential for them to get worse.

Her attention was quick to shift to the person that came out of the house, "Morning Serena."

"Morning," the blonde timidly replied, her own eyes scanning what lay ahead now. "It's going to be a long day."

"Mhm," the Senshi of Jupiter consented with a nod. "Rini, okay?"

"Yeah, Darien dropped her and the cats off at my parents," Serena paused a moment, before murmuring. "It'll be safer for them there...I'd take her with us, but I won't take the chance something is going to happen to her. Senshi or not, she is my future daughter."

Lita gave a wry grin, clapping her friend on the back, "Now you're starting to sound like a future queen."

"Heh," Serena wryly grinned, rubbing at the back of her head. "Let's not hope for miracles here. Who are we waiting on?"

"Mmm," Ami brought in, having been sitting in one of the whicker chairs all this time. "Rei and Mina are coming down now. So are the Outers. Not sure where the Ronins-"

"They left a half-hour ago," Trista supplied as she walked onto the porch. "Ryo-tachi at any rate, Kayura-tachi left about fifteen minutes ago."

"What?" Rei gaped, "What on earth for?"

"A group of almost thirty people are easier to get at, remember?" the Elemental Senshi Leader calmly stated. "We all decided last night we'd go in our respective groups and at different times."

"Ya we did," Mina agreed. "They didn't need to get that much of a head start though."

Hotaru gave a shrug of her shoulders, "Ryo-tachi are over achievers, what can I say?"

"I say enough with the complaints, and let's move out," Amara announced leaping off the porch and onto the grass.

Serena gave an immediate protest as the Outers all followed Amara's example, "Hey! Wait for us." She turned to her Senshi saying, "Minna, transform, and let's go."

"Right," the four girls agreed.

The Sailor Elementals waited on the porch and until the Inner and Outer Senshi had fallen from their line of sight before uttering a word.

"We're in for hell," Vanessa said in complaint, her eyes stormy. "It'll be a miracle if one of us makes it out of this one alive."

Kirstin gave a nod, "It will, but isn't it normal for all of us to pull miracles out of a hat?"

"Yeah," Callista commented, but she was frowning. "Normally, but the odds, which normally aren't in our favor, happen to be dead set against us this time. Why are we doing this again?"

Aurora gave a half-snort, saying calmly, "Akemliek isn't the only one affected by a seal, Universe is as well. Both seals are going to fall, let's just make sure the one that affects Universe goes first."

"Mhm," Vanessa toyed with her transformation pendant for a moment. "Because if he gets loose we are in his domain, and he can kill us easily. He's done it before."

"Thanks for those chipper words of wisdom," Kirstin rolled her eyes and walked off the porch. "Let's get this over with already; they all have enough of a head start."

Of course, little did the warriors realize that their brilliant plan of going in their separate groups, where their unity would be the strongest, would aide them very little. It did not matter how far apart they had paced themselves...In the end, the enemy's plan would prevail.

* * *

Ryo followed behind the Ronins of Halo and Torrent...Seeing as how they had been the ones to accurately pinpoint the location of the 'anomaly,' they got stuck leading. Yet, the Ronin Leader was painfully aware of where they were headed.

He could have led them there blindfolded he knew the location so well. It was forever ingrained into his memory, and would always remain there as long as his memories were not altered.

Overall, the five young men were exceedingly quiet. Being somewhat reminded of days rather long ago, where they had traversed the streets of Shinjuku waiting for the next dynasty soldier to jump out and attack them.

There was a difference this time though, they weren't reckless teenagers with barely any knowledge of what was going on, they were men and knew exactly what lay in store for them. That, and the added fact they were far closer to these armors than they had the previous ones.

Each Ronin was listening to his own respective element, trying to detect any change that might occur, signifying the enemy had begun to move against them...But, there was nothing.

The fact that they were willingly walking into a trap, did not appear to bother any of them. The five had quickly tired of this game of cat and mouse, and they wanted to put an end to it.

"I want to know," Kento grumbled out in complaint. "What is up with the freaking rain? I don't think it's stopped once in the past three days."

The archer gave a light shrug of his shoulders, "At least it isn't cold enough to be ice or snow."

Ryo gave a snort to that one, "Oh yeah, it's only a grand eight degrees out Ro."

"I don't happen to mind the rain," the bearer of Torrent now brought in. "Except when it goes on for this long."

Sage cast a glance over his shoulder at his teammates, "It is strange, especially since there was no system on the radar beforehand. But why would the enemy be bothered to do something like this? Not their style number one, and number two if they wanted an energy boost it'd have to be ice or snow, not this."

"Good point," Rowen conceded, drawing to a halt when he felt a spike in the energy around them.

He returned his eyes to his friends, noticing that Sage and Cye had halted in front of a large stone wall. A moment later, the entrance to the cavern became visible.

"Full armor, now?" the Warrior of Strength queried, turning his eyes to his leader.

Ryo gave a nod, "Yeah, armor up guys."

In a moment, the five had gone from subarmor to full armor...No longer did they have to call it out to summon it. As with the Seasonals, they had become used to the armors always being present. All it required was the thought, and the armor responded.

Without a bit of hesitation the five Ronin Warriors entered the cavern, ten minutes later the Lady Kayura and the Seasonals followed, then the Outer Senshi, and lastly the Inner Senshi.

The Sailor Elementals were the only ones to hesitate in front of the large cavern's entrance. The four women were used to jumping headfirst into things, _after _having Glacia scan to make sure there was nothing amiss.

Nova looked to the Senshi of Water and Ice, "Well?"

"Oh yeah we're off to a good start," she commented rolling her eyes. "It's definitely time and space manipulation. It might have something to do with the seal Inferno placed, either way they figured out how to use it."

"And the others walked right into it, peachy," Empyrean mumbled, warily glancing ahead. "Well, we going or not?"

"Going," Aarde stated in a calm tone walking forward, "If we get separated we can find each other later. And if not each other, at least our elemental partners."

Nova chortled at that, teasingly commented, "You just want to find Hardrock, because you like him."

"No duh," the Senshi of Earth replied before walking on in.

She left three gaping comrades behind her, not a one believing those words had just come out of her mouth. They quickly shook themselves, and followed after her.

Kali emerged from the woods with a smirk alighting her features, and with a snap of her fingers the entrance vanished completely, leaving them no way out.

"Now," she commented with a chuckle. "We have you all right where we want you."

With a small chuckle of amusement, the ice demoness faded into the shadows. It was time for the games to begin.

* * *

**On Akemliek's 'Side'**

"Well we should have everything ready," Thanos commented as he once more read over the incantation. "All we need is for them to play into our hands, and it should work."

"Yes, but these have never been that foolish," Akemliek remarked in a calm tone. "Granted, they have no one to guide them...But they are not inherently stupid, without the Great Council and Elders to pull their strings they are quite dangerous."

Thanos gave a nod, "Of course, I did not mean to imply they were not. My apologies."

"Think nothing of it," Akemliek was most likely dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "I like warriors who can fight and think for themselves anyway. Anything else is painfully dull and boring."

"Agreed," Kali chimed in having almost skipped into the cavern. "Yet, Master, and forgive me for saying such, would not it have made more sense to leave this place? This is the third attempt, is it not?"

"Oh more than that," Akemliek commented with a chuckle. "Do not think the lifetimes I mentioned were the only ones that occurred, there were many...But none of them without their appeal and form of entertainment. This galaxy amuses me, it's why I chose to linger here before the Scout sealed me."

"Even if she had not done so," Akemliek went on. "I would have stayed here anyway. She knows their true potential, knows they will give me a fight I cannot walk away from. Universe is right, because I can sense it in them as well. Perhaps not as keenly as she can, but it is enough to hold my interest. Have they arrived?"

"Yes," Kali gave a bow in respect. "Things, so far, are going according to plan. The Elementals did not fall for the bait, like you had suspected, they made their way around the trap."

"Good," Akemliek commented shifting slightly in his chair. "The only thing we have need of is the Ronins using Inferno. Other than that, it matters little how the rest of the plan goes."

"Of course, we understand," the siblings murmured as they both bowed.

"We shall leave you to your thoughts, and make sure the Raikken don't bungle the job," Thanos announced dragging his sister out of the room.

Akemliek gave a snort, as he leaned back in the chair, "Pah, they'll be rather busy then. The Raikken are slightly smarter than those metal morons Talpa used, but they're about as useful as some of Wisemen's minions."

Oh well, he would just have to be thankful that Thanos and Kali thought Beryl was an idiot and joined up with him instead. Otherwise, he would have had to rely solely on the Raikken...Now there was a thought that could give you nightmares.

"Someone needs to develop a smarter minion," Akemliek grumbled out.

* * *

_A/n: Eight degrees: The temperature is listed in Celsius; 8 degrees Celsius equals around 46 degrees Fahrenheit. So it's not freezing out, but its still too cold for Ryo's tastes. _

_Hope you enjoyed your update!_

_-LG_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

"Oh my head," Sailor Venus moaned out as she gently rubbed at the sore spot.

She heard someone snort, and looked up, blinking in confusion at seeing the Ronin of Strata standing there. "Huh?" She continued to stare at him.

"Don't look at me," the archer said shaking his head. "This defies all sense of natural logic."

"Not really," the Senshi of Saturn brought in now. She had ended up not too far from them and merely walked over upon hearing the voices, "We're on the enemy's turf, anything is possible."

"They can manipulate the energy down here to do, basically, whatever they want it to do," Kayura confirmed with a nod.

Rowen nervously shifted on his feet, querying of the woman, "Can you sense the others at all?"

She gave a shake of her head, then made a statement not a question, "I take it you can't either."

"Too much interference," the Strata Ronin complained.

Venus wrinkled her nose and opened her wrist communicator, but all she got was static, "Well, so much for that avenue."

Saturn sighed and held tightly onto her glaive, as she started to walk off saying over her shoulder, "I don't like being a stationary target."

"I'm with you on that," the Strata Ronin chuckled, following behind her.

Venus was quick to head after the two of them, not liking the thought of being left behind.

Kayura sighed through her nose, before casting a wary glance over her shoulder to make sure no enemy was there. She could sense and see nothing, and it was with a pointed reluctance that she made her way after the other three.

The Lady Ancient could only hope that the other warriors were having better luck.

* * *

Sage had come to the conclusion that while Fate may enjoy giving Ryo undo misery, that it _hated _him. The blond swordsman had not ended up with any of his teammates, even though the five of them had entered together at the same time.

No, he was stuck with Sekhmet, whom he could almost tolerate, the Sailor of Neptune, and the Moon Princess. Yeah, Fate really had it out for him this time.

"This sucks," Sailor Moon whined in complaint. "I can't believe we got separated like that."

Neptune merely shook her head at the younger Senshi, saying, "It makes sense that they'd try to do more than just disorientate us. After all, being in our own groups makes us more dangerous than we are like this."

"We'll manage to survive," Sekhmet brought in with a bored expression on his face. Honestly, sometimes these girls were too wimpy for his tastes.

Sage gave a scowl at hearing that, thinking dryly to himself, _'Speak for yourself, Sekhmet.'_

Sailor Moon immediately noticed the look on his face, "What's wrong, why are you scowling?"

Before Sage could come up with some sort of explanation, Sekhmet burst out laughing at the question not at all bothering to hide his amusement. Sage's one eye twitched, only more so when the Fall Seasonal commented, "Halo's scowled so much; it's _permanently_ etched into his face."

Neptune brought up her hand to mask her laugh as a cough, Sailor Moon didn't bother, she simply outright sniggered.

Sage's violet eyes flickered ever so slightly, and he commented, "Sekhmet, would you like to taste metal?" The swordsman lightly moved his no-datchi to further emphasize his point.

The green-haired man grimaced, and quickly shook his head no. Oh, he was sure he could take Halo in a fair fight, well an almost fair one, but when the Ronin's eyes changed like that, he was downright _creepy_ looking.

"Good choice," Halo's bearer remarked as he returned his attention to the walk ahead. His scowl only deepened, as he gritted out, "Raikken ahead."

"How many?" the Sailor of Neptune had already tensed in anticipation of the fight to come.

"Fifteen."

Sekhmet withdrew his own blades, casually saying, "Well, let's make quick work of those then."

* * *

"Only us," Kento announced as he knocked over a Raikken with his naginata, "Would get into a fight right off the bat. We haven't even been here an hour yet!"

Anubis let out a chuckle, clearly amused, "Would you prefer it any other way, Kento?"

"Are you kidding me? I _live_ for this!"

Mars gave a snort, throwing her attack and crumpling about four Raikken, she remarked in a teasing tone, "That and food."

"Ah," the Warrior of Strength quipped, "Guilty as charged."

Pluto gave a rueful shake of her head though she knew the answer to her question, she posed it anyway, "Nothing gets to you, does it?"

Kento looked around, but they had dealt with all the Raikken present. It had only been about twenty or so, nothing special all of them had been rather low rank. He went back to a relaxed position, "Some things do, but I tend to bounce back pretty quick."

The Spring Seasonal also was checking for more enemies, but nothing came across as being out of place. If there were more of the Raikken, they were lying in wait for some reason or another.

"We should continue onward," Anubis finally announced, before doing just that. "And hope the others are well."

Kento gave a snort, saying by way of dismissal, "I know the guys are fine."

"Oh?" Pluto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Too stubborn not to be," the Hardrock Ronin stated as if it were supposed to be obvious.

Mars chortled at that, and shook her head before quickly following after Anubis, who was slowly getting further and further ahead of them. Pluto and Kento shrugged their shoulders at one another, before resuming the walk.

* * *

"You're starting to remind me of Sage," the Ronin of Torrent dryly commented with a roll of his sea-green eyes.

Cale made a face at hearing this, and sounded seriously affronted, "Sage and I are _nothing_ alike."

Galaxy gave a derisive snort, "Ya right. You both sleep with nightlights."

Cale could only stare at the Scout with a dumfounded look on his face, while Cye and Jupiter laughed at his expression.

"Whoops," Galaxy mused to herself. "I said that one out loud, hm."

"Tell me," the Senshi of Jupiter queried having gained control of her laughter. She slung an arm around her fellow Scout's shoulder, "How do you know such classified information?"

Galaxy could only smirk, commenting slyly, "Lindsay's no prude."

Cye chortled at this, "Meaning she's a stalker, eh?"

"Mhm," the Scout confirmed with a nod, casually adding, "And seeing as how Sage and Cale are not the only men at the mansion…" She stopped when the Ronin of Trust went considerably pale.

Sailor Jupiter was almost in stitches now, "You're terrible!"

"Well, I could be worse," Galaxy honestly admitted. "I could act like Lindsay all the time."

"No you wouldn't," Cye told her in a calm tone. "If Elayne didn't kill you first-"

"The rest of us would," Cale finished with a nod.

The Senshi blinked, "You people are really nice, ya know that?"

Jupiter gave a wry grin, "Try to place more of your personality on your counterpart, and they won't have to be _so_ nice."

"Ha ha," Galaxy was now sulking, and she picked up the pace she happened to be walking at to further show her annoyance.

The three merely sniggered, but did not bother to catch up with her. It wasn't like she could go really far, and even if she did they certainly wouldn't have minded.

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a loose breath as they continued to walk down the narrow passage. It seemed to him as though hours had passed by now, but it might have had something to do with the fact that they had fought three separate groups of Raikken.

It certainly didn't help that with every step his reluctance continued to grow full aware of where they were heading and the fact that with every moment he felt a slight drain on his armor.

Wildfire did not want to be down there anymore than he did, and while it realized the need for them to go…It was not at all thrilled.

Dais walked next to him, eyes scanning the surrounding walls looking for any sign of where an illusion might have been used, but so far he had been able to detect nothing.

"All right Ryo?" the Summer Seasonal finally queried. He was as aware as the Lady Ancient that while the Ronin Leader's strength had comeback surprisingly fast, that he was in no way out of the woods.

The bearer of Wildfire paused, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Mercury cast a sideways glance at the Ronin of Wildfire, commenting, "Don't push yourself, the guys will hang you for it," before typing away on her computer.

"Oh yeah," the Senshi of Uranus gave a low chuckle in amusement. "But, if Elayne finds out he'll be drawn and quartered too boot."

Ryo let out a somewhat strangled noise from the back of his throat, "Could we please go, I don't know, a day without bringing up what way she's going to murder me next?"

"I think you are too hopeful there," the white-haired man told him. "It's become quite an amusing little game."

"Oh great," the Ronin Leader rolled his eyes now. "Let me guess, you're taking bets now too."

He was greeted with a sudden and rather odd silence.

"You have **_got_** to be kidding me!"

* * *

Sailor Glacia took pause before letting out a snort in mild laughter, "Things echo in these tunnels. Did anyone other than me hear that?"

"I heard," Aarde remarked in amusement. "Secret's out now though."

Empyrean gave a sly grin, "Who wants to tell him how much yen we're up to now?"

The three of them gave light laughs, but Nova was exceedingly quiet. Her eyes skimmed past the tunnels, but all she could see and feel was the negative energy around them. It turned her stomach and made her head swim…Light was her element, and down here she was suffocating.

"Nova?" the Sailor of Wind queried, "Everything okay?"

"No," the Elemental Leader mumbled, eyes returning to her teammates whom were walking in front of her. "We've been attacked twice already, and time is not moving correctly. There's no way to keep track of anything down here."

Glacia had her eyes straight ahead of her, permitting her senses to do most of the walking…They were not as limited by this as Nova's were. She could find and follow the water, and there was plenty of it down here…Inside the rocks, tracing up to the roots of the trees.

"It'll be fine, Nova," the Water and Ice Scout finally spoke. "We know what we are doing, so do the others. Just have a little patience."

Aarde gave a rather large pout, "Hey! Stop stealing my lines Glacia."

"He he," Glacia smirked, "Nope."

"Pah," Empyrean rolled her eyes. "You two are almost as bad as your elemental partners. If not worse."

"Empyrean," Nova had both her eyebrows raised. "That doesn't exactly say much for you."

They all pondered over this for a minute and then burst out laughing. For now the laughter was necessary to keep the tension from taking hold, but pretty soon even that would fade.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

The going was anything but easy…The further they went down these tunnels the more her skin crawled. Jupiter's eyes rapidly moved from side to side, inspecting every nook and crevice waiting for more of the Raikken to appear.

She hated being put on edge like this, what she hated even more than that was aimlessly walking in enemy territory. But, really they had little choice in the matter. All they could do was fight the lousy Raikken when they bothered to show up, and continue down the tunnel they'd ended up in.

Her legs were starting to kill her, and so was her head…Sailor Galaxy had started trying to make idle chatter before, and now the woman was practically rambling. It wasn't just her nerves this was grating on, Cale looked pretty annoyed himself.

Cye? The Senshi of Jupiter cast a side-ways glance at the Ronin of Torrent, to gauge him as they continued this seemingly pointless march. He had been relatively quiet, bringing only in bits of humor when he felt they needed it. She knew, having been around him for so long now, that out of all the other Ronin he disliked fighting the most.

It had nothing to do with the fact he was poor at it, on the contrary he was exceedingly skilled. Perhaps as much of a perfectionist when it came to the yari as Sage was with the sword. He just did not like the thought, had never liked the thought he had told her once, of spending all his life fighting evil without getting the chance to actually live.

She felt bad for him, actually of all of them, Ronin and Senshi alike. They had never gotten a choice in any of this. Over three-millennia ago, definitely, and perhaps more than four, they had ended up picking up a task their 'elders' had not been able to complete. Their powers had been inherited, the same with all the baggage that went with it.

It continued to come back to them with each passing life, a sharp reminder that all unfinished business needs to be finished eventually…This lifetime represented the time for it to be finished. Either they would win this, or lose it completely. There would no longer be any more chances, time had finally run out.

However, what none of them could know, or probably ever would, was the fact that these events had happened before…Far more than just twice. A burdensome secret that not even the Guardian of Time herself laid claim to.

"Ugh," Jupiter let out a low moan and stopped to lean against the wall. "I need a break, my legs are killing me…We've been walking for hours!"

"Energy's giving me a migraine," Cale commented…He didn't happen to be referring to the negative energy surrounding them. Nope, he was commenting on the energy Sailor Galaxy seemed to have.

It didn't go unnoticed by her at all, "Mr. Doom-and-Gloom over there, ya gotta problem with me? Huh, Fido?"

"Kids," Cye broke the fighting before it could begin, "Let's take a fifteen minute breather, all right?"

Jupiter snorted, shaking her head, "If you can figure out what fifteen minutes is down here."

"Fine," Galaxy and Cale both grumbled sitting down, shooting ugly looks at one another. The Ronin of Torrent rolled his eyes, no matter where he went he always seemed to get stuck with the immature ones…Sad, actually.

* * *

**Even Later**

"This is hopeless," Sailor Moon's voice was laced with despair, as she more or less fell against the ground.

Sekhmet stood up straight, gave a huff and rolled his eyes, "One would come to that conclusion considering how much luck we've had thus far."

"It doesn't feel right to me," Neptune murmured quietly, having briefly taken out her mirror…But there was nothing revealed in its cold glass surface. She let out a sigh, sat down to rest as well…"What are we on? Tenth Raikken skirmish, and twenty or less?"

"Sounds about right," the Fall Seasonal grumbled in complaint, "They're wearing us down."

"And running us in near circles, no doubt," Sage remarked…In the face of these kinds of problems, the swordsman was calm….He had been raised to act that way in the face of adversity, and time had not been able to change that about him.

He shifted his weight ever so slightly, and leaned back against the cavern wall, to get some pressure off his legs, "I don't know if I'm the only one coming to this conclusion, but we know they had to mess with time in order to separate us like they have. And according to what we know time doesn't work correctly down here, because it took them so long to figure out when our battles were over. Meaning, they can manipulate it to do what they need it to do."

"Great," Sailor Moon groused. "That makes me feel a whole lot better Sage."

"It's not supposed to make you feel better," the Ronin of Halo bluntly stated. "But you're giving up when we've probably barely even started, isn't going to solve anything."

Neptune smiled wryly, "Oh, you give pep talks now?"

"I thought that was Strata's job," Sekhmet added in with a snigger.

Sage gave a snort to that, "Oh yeah, the last time Rowen gave a "pep talk" it almost ended with Ryo dying, and with Blaze dead. We tend to avoid letting him "rally the troops" now."

* * *

Rowen let out a violent sneeze, and then rubbed at his nose a small frown coming to his face. He let out a loose shrug of his shoulders to the question Venus posed about whether or not he was all right.

"M'fine," the archer reiterated after letting out another sneeze, and getting a concerned look from the blonde.

Saturn let out a giggle, "Someone's talking about you, I bet."

"Heh yeah, and it's all bad too I'm sure," the Ronin of Strata commented with a grumble.

Kayura's eyes scanned the surrounding cavern and she slowed her pace, saying to Saturn, "Further we go, the darker this place gets."

"I know," the Senshi admitted with a nod, "It's bothersome."

"Creepy's more like it," Venus mumbled out, hands instinctively going to her arms as she tried to rub some warmth back into them.

The Ronin of Strata was largely silent, thoughtful as he weighed the situation at hand…They were going to need a more permanent break, and soon. They'd been at this for more than just a few hours…A whole day could have passed by now without them really knowing it. They were going to burn out if they were not careful.

"Look," he broke the sudden silence that had occurred while he'd been in his own thoughts, "We're all tired; we should call it a night for now."

All three women stopped dead in their tracks and turned to look at him…It was easy to see it in their faces, they were trying to come up with some reason as to why it would have been a bad idea. Yet, in the end they could find none as they gave nods in agreement.

"Take turns in shifts?" Sailor Venus queried curiously.

"Mhm," Saturn gave a nod, and was prepared to pose a question, but Rowen beat her to it.

"Good, since it was my idea I'll take first watch," the archer stated in a calm tone, saying to the looks of protest, "No arguments ladies."

The Senshi of Saturn gave him a look before shaking her head a little and rolling her eyes. She gave a sigh and sat down, leaning her glaive against the wall, and then she closed her eyes. Well, there was no point in arguing over it really, she was pretty wiped.

Sailor Venus gave a huff of probably indignation, but she too flopped down on the unforgiving ground, and was out cold only a few minutes later.

Rowen let out a chuckle in amusement, his midnight blue-eyes suddenly shifting to Kayura who was watching him. He saw it before she squelched it, the nervousness in her face…Nor could he ignore the apprehension in her stature. Almost immediately the guilt swelled up within him, and he made sure to say in as soft a tone as possible, "That goes for you too Kayura."

The Lady Ancient pursed her lips together, a look crossing her face that instantly reminded him of the hardened warrior that had on more than one occasion nearly killed him. But instead of angering him, like it would have before, or set him into the defensive, now it simply came across as amusing.

"I'm fine thank-you very much," she told him curtly.

"A'ight," the archer murmured as he started to walk away. Well, if she was going to stay awake then maybe he could gather a little information while the two Senshi slept.

Kayura's eyes slightly widened, and her brows furrowed, "Where are you going?"

"S'long as you're going to stay up, I'll go scout ahead a little," He took a pause and grimaced. "The pun was unintended."

"Sure it was," she gave a snort…She should have let it go at that, but something compelled her to follow the Ronin of Strata and that is what she did.

Rowen walked in silence for several minutes, he knew she was back there…It was kind of hard not to hear someone following you especially when you were expecting to get jumped by Raikken at any moment. Finally he cast a glance over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow, "What are you following me for?"

He could see she was going to shrug him off, so he added with a sly grin, "Stalking me now?"

The archer tried not to chuckle at the look of annoyance that crossed her face, or the loathing her eyes now held…It was very hard for him though.

"Splitting up is a bad idea," Kayura tartly stated, hands almost going for her jitter but she pulled them back. She had seen nothing more than their shadows, how she hated being jumpy like this. But, the Strata Ronin still had her on edge.

All of a sudden Rowen stopped walking, "Ya, you're right. It's a dumb idea." He still was glancing at her from over his shoulder, now he looked past her to the two sleeping Senshi, "Well, I guess this is far enough then."

"Far enough for what?" Kayura hesitantly asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Strata's bearer ran an armored hand through his blue locks, before turning around so that he could face her, "I need to talk to you."

At hearing that her mind quickly brought to the front the memory of the fight…But no surprise showed in her face, or fear, she simply said, "No, I-"

"Kayura please," Rowen had heard the nervousness in her tone, it was buried deep, but he knew it was still there…And again the guilt stabbed at him. "This is important."

After mentally berating herself into calming down, she queried, "What?"

"The other day," the archer's voice was soft now, riddled with remorse. "What I did? Kayura, I-"

Now she was irritated, that warrior pride of hers burst up in order to protect that weaker part of her…The part of her she could not stand, that or she was afraid to understand it. "Don't, all right? You meant it."

She moved to stalk past him, however, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, gently pulling her back to him but moving her just enough that her back was to the wall and he was blocking her only escape route. That was when her eyes widened in shock.

Rowen's tone had a note of frustration in it, "This is hard enough for me, as it is. Just give me five minutes, and then you can make this more difficult."

He did not wait for an acknowledgement, he merely said what he felt he needed to…He knew, knew there was no way he could undo what he did…But Rowen could at least try and explain himself…He needed it for his own peace of mind, now.

"Yes, I meant what I said. I just didn't mean for it to come out the way it did…I sure as _hell_ didn't mean for it to go that far."

Kayura remained silent, her nerves were starting to smooth out…Her apprehension was starting to fade with each moment that they stood there. Once her mind accepted the fact he wasn't going to raise a hand to her, or verbally strike again she calmed.

"I was angry," Rowen murmured, eyes downcast…Slightly faraway. "I earned it, after all the fights you and I had. So what if I was holding a grudge? They'd be hypocrites to say they never held grudges against the Warlords. Out of all the fights, me and the guys, ever had the ones with you are the _only _ones that still haunt me and plague my dreams."

His voice lowered, came down to almost a whisper, "I hated you as much as I feared you'd kill me and get to Ryo…But, you had no control over who you were back then."

The Ronin of Strata relinquished his hold on her, dropped his hands to his sides, and slightly clenched them, "You were as much a victim as any of us…I can't, Kayura, I can't hold it against you anymore. I had no right to throw it in your face about who you used to be, because it was never you to begin with."

He let out a breath now, one he'd been holding for what he felt was an eternity, and then gave a humble bow of his head, "I hope one day you can forgive me for my thoughtless words. I am truly sorry for having hurt you, because I know I did."

The Lady Ancient could only helplessly stare at the young man in front of her.

She just could not, her mind was not quite sure if it could wrap around the fact that the Ronin of Strata had just apologized to her. What really got to her, more than that, was the fact that he _meant_ it.

The emotion behind the words he had spoken was real; no one could fake that… Rowen was being completely sincere. She had seen it in his face as well, and those things were just enough to convince her.

She finally placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him slightly for he quickly looked up…The guilt reflected in those starry-depths served only to reiterate what she had seen before.

"It's okay Rowen, it was necessary," Kayura murmured out, placing a finger to his lips when he opened his mouth to protest. "I accept your apology, though you had nothing to apologize for. But, let's have apologies accepted on both sides…We need to be able to move past this."

"I accepted yours, a long time ago," the archer admitted once she'd removed her hand. "You had no reason to apologize either. According to some people though, I was just being a "silent snappy archer" whatever that was supposed to mean."

Kayura let out a giggle, "I do so love An-chan's titles."

"You two get along way too well," the archer remarked stepping aside so that she was no longer pinned to the wall. "What are you doin'? Plotting our demises?"

"Oh, we haven't yet," the Lady Ancient gave a devilish grin. "But, thanks for giving me the idea."

"We're doomed," Rowen moaned out with a playful grin following behind the woman, as she had started to make her way back to the two Senshi.

Kayura gave a soft smile, saying quietly, "Elayne's right though, you know? You are a good man, Rowen."

The blue-haired archer came to a complete stop and could only blink in confusion…The girl had actually said that about him? _'Nah, she couldn't have.'_

* * *

**Somewhere Else...Sometime Later**

"So," the Ronin of Hardrock drawled out, taking his first break that morning…Er, well if it was morning. Time was exceedingly hard to gauge down here, especially when they were fighting small bands of Raikken. It certainly helped to break up the monotony, but did not help in figuring out how much time was passing.

Kento was not letting it bother him though, he considered it morning anytime after he'd woken up, and night anytime before he went to sleep for more than fifteen minutes. It made life a lot simpler that way, besides there were more important things to worry about.

At this point they'd slept, anything more than an hour, twice…Meaning at least two days had passed by this point.

"Anyone aside from me think we're getting nowhere fast?"

Sailor Mars gave a light sigh, her body was sore and achy, "I agree with you Kento. We've been walking forever, and this tunnel hasn't even branched out yet."

"It might have earlier; we simply did not see it because it was cloaked with an illusion," Pluto offered leaning lightly against her staff now. Seeing as how everyone else was taking a break she figured she would take one as well.

Anubis had been following behind the three of them, trying to check for those illusions the Senshi had hinted at might be there. If they were present though, they were cloaked well enough that he could not even detect the disturbance of energy like he normally could.

Now the Spring Seasonal came to a stop as well, commenting, "It would seem as though they are far from done with wearing us down."

"Can't last forever though," Kento remarked getting back to his feet and starting to walk once more. "They have to make a move sooner or later."

"Let's hope it happens sooner," Mars remarked with a grumble, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Pluto gave a soft snort but refrained from making a comment aloud, there really was nothing to be said on the matter. Whatever happened would happen, that was just the way things went.

Anubis shook his head a little, and then curled a hand around his kusari-gama, "More Raikken."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

Ryo had dropped back from the others, his brows were furrowed and his breathing was uneven. He paused a moment, steadied himself by placing a hand against the stone cavern wall. The Ronin Leader shook himself in a vain attempt to clear his muddled thoughts, he just could not focus.

Ahead of him the Senshi of Uranus and Mercury were kicking around ideas as to what they could do, that might potentially put a crack into the enemy's place. Of course, the more ideas they kicked around to help find the others, the more they refuted them as being useless.

Nothing seemed plausible, and they had no idea where they were in relation to the other warriors…Plus, Mercury's computer still refused to cooperate, every time she tried to input any data it returned an error message.

_'Pull yourself together,' _Wildfire's bearer ridiculed himself before removing his hand from the wall and forcing his body to walk onward. His eyes went back to the Senshi, and then a frown crossed his face. Where was?

"You're getting worse," the Summer Seasonal supplied, now standing right next to him.

Ryo had not bothered to draw his katana, knowing full well it was the Seasonal that had been lurking in the shadows right next to him, "Starting to sound like Ro, Dais. With that whole state the obvious thing."

"Not necessarily," Dais commented. "I hadn't realized there was anything seriously wrong with you, till we started out again. You hide it well."

"Thanks for the compliment," the bearer of Wildfire snorted out, immediately drawing to a halt…Eyes widening in surprise.

Mercury and Uranus had already come to a stop…There had finally been a split in the cavern…Now it was just a matter of deciding what to do about it.

"Obviously," Uranus dryly commented, "We have to go our separate ways, two and two."

Dais gave a nod in agreement, "You two take the one, and we will handle the other."

"Fair enough see you guys when we see you," Mercury commented before she and Uranus vanished down the tunnel on the left.

Ryo sighed through his nose as he and Dais started their trek, "I just hope we run into the others. Being separated like this is starting to bother me."

"I am certain they are fine," the white-haired man brought in.

"Ya, I'd just like to know for a fact," Ryo mumbled.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

"Slinking around has its benefits," Aarde mused as she stretched out her tightening muscles.

The Sailor Elementals had managed to avoid a large number of the Raikken sent after them by side-stepping the trap the enemy had specifically laid out for them. It mattered little though; Kali was not concerned because everything else was going according to plan and Akemliek was not that bothered by it either.

"Ya, things get heavy and we'll probably be the only ones at almost full strength," Empyrean commented getting to her feet.

Glacia was silent, her eyes half-lidded as she reached out with her senses…It was how they'd been able to avoid so many of the Raikken. With all the water around them, she could sense where disturbances were and thus keep them out of most of the trouble.

"Mm," the Scout of Water and Ice finally came back to the world around her, quickly jumping to her feet and starting to walk. "They're starting to make their move now."

"Oh, how so?" Nova turned her head to look at the Scout.

"The other Senshi are starting to meet up," Glacia picked up her pace, "They are finding each other and their way out of these mazes."

"Meaning," Empyrean broke into a jog when realization dawned on her. "The same for the Ronin."

Aarde and Nova had broken into sprints themselves, Glacia had gotten further ahead of her comrades though; a gap which they were quick to close.

"Certainly has taken them long enough," Nova remarked, adding, "The others might be more worn down then we think."

"No telling exactly how much time has passed outside of here either," Aarde brought in, casting a glance to her leader. "Or, how many Raikken fights they have had to go through."

"The Ronin are better at these types of situations than the Scouts," Glacia admitted. "Just not the type of battle."

Empyrean gave a shake of her head, "Let's just hope we can prevent anything terrible from happening." The other three gave nods in agreement.

* * *

_A/N: So what will happen now? Will the warriors meet up without a problem? Or does this all seem to good to be true? Stay tuned._

_*always wanted to say that* xD Neway, hope you enjoyed your two chapter update._


	15. Chapter 14 February 1997

**Chapter Fourteen**

**

* * *

**

**_February 1997_**

**Shinwako Estate**

Elayne let out a sigh through her nose as she looked herself over in the mirror, and she could only sigh at her reflection. Honestly, she looked as awful as she felt…Her skin was pale and drawn, and there were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"Ugh," she mumbled out, opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out a bottle of prescribed pain killers. It was true she couldn't feel most of the pain as it was inflicted upon her, but it didn't mean she was completely dead to all forms of it.

Just like back during the wars with Talpa and Beryl, and all the other enemies the warriors had…When they were in trouble she knew it. She was far too close to them, and too sensitive to block out the pain they were in.

Right now every muscle in her body was screaming in agony, and her head was pounding in her ears. They were in deep this time, and she was a lot closer to the action then she had ever been before. It was how she knew they were in trouble, how she had always known.

Before none of this had made any sense to her, there was no reason for her to pick up on their pain like that…Even if the Crystal had let her slightly sense it, which it didn't. Now it all made perfect sense, and her gut twisted at the mere thought.

"I should have told them about that," Elayne's voice was tinged with raw emotion…Guilt splayed across her face. "I should have told them a lot of things, actually. Now, I'll never get the chance, not before I-"

She stopped herself, shook her head vigorously and then popped two of the pills in her mouth proceeding to swallow them dry. Really there was no point for her to dwell on it; she couldn't change anything that had happened. Though, she might be able to pull off affecting what was going to happen in order to prevent a certain event.

"Focus Elayne, focus," the girl berated herself, she didn't have time for these thoughts now. She had somewhere she needed to be soon, "Can't go out looking like this, though."

She pulled out some make-up, "Good thing I watched Aurora-tachi use this crap, otherwise I'd be sunk." She quickly covered up her signs of lack of sleep and poor health, and let out a sigh.

The girl had the day off, and she needed it at this point…In between being over-worked and worrying about the warriors, she could have done with a three month vacation and still not gotten enough rest.

It was good to be able to hang out with someone who was closer to her age, and understood exactly where she was coming from. The girl cast a quick glance at her wristwatch and let out a yelp, "I'm going to be late! Hanging out with Serena totally ruined me." She quickly ran out of the bathroom, grabbed her purse and booked it out of her room.

* * *

"I'll get it dear," the man let out a light chuckle in amusement at his wife's antics. She was currently going over a list of supplies she wanted for her garden, where she wanted to put the newer flowers, and at the same time was trying to tutor their young son.

It was not often he was at home; the position he held at his job required him to work exceedingly long hours, but this sacrifice had afforded him the ability to pay for the home his family lived in as well as other things.

Some might say that his son suffered from this, but the boy had managed to make very impressive friends who had stepped into the big brother role quite easily. Without their help, he knew his boy would have been quite a different person.

The man slicked back his raven hair, feeling a little self-conscious about answering the door in such overtly relaxed attire…He hoped it was not someone from his job.

He paused a moment to listen to his son patiently tell his mother that in order to do the problem the way she was suggesting he would have to negate three rules the teacher's told him had to be followed.

The man shook his head in amusement and then opened the door, the visitor gave a smile and bowed her head, to which he quickly bowed back.

"Hello Yamano-san," Elayne's smiled widened a little. "How are you?"

"An-chan, good to see you," Yuli's father, Hisoka, responded with amusement in his voice. "I am well thank-you. I take it you are here for Yuli?"

"Yes sir," she gave a nod. "He told me he needed help with an assignment."

"Ah-"

"Layne awesome timing," Yuli came from around the corner having heard her voice, he had a satchel in one hand, and hastily snatched his skateboard with another calling out, "Bye Mom, love you!"

He paused and gave a bow of his head to his father, "I will be back later, as we discussed, and no later than that."

"Yuli! Wait a minute," his mother began, apparently she was not fully prepared to let him go just yet. She could be heard quickly walking down the hall after him.

The boy let surprise cross his face for a brief moment, and then ducked out the door, hopping on his skateboard and speeding away.

"Oh! That boy," Noriko complained, turning her eyes to her husband and glaring at him. "This is all your fault, you realize? Letting him get away with those childish actions, thank heavens for those boys they kept him on track. He'd be uncontrollable otherwise!"

Hisoka let out a cough at this, and turned pleading eyes to Elayne. The girl did not let a smile cross her face though she would have loved to laugh at such a comical situation.

"Do not worry, I will keep him out of trouble," Elayne gave Yuli's mother a small smile for reassurance.

"Oh of course you will," Noriko gushed out. "You have such good sense, An, dear."

"Thank you," Elayne gave a bow of her head, which helped to hide the look on her face. "See you later!" She then backed away, before Yuli's mother decided to make comments…Sooner or later the woman would be going on about how they'd make a cute couple.

Elayne was quick to catch up to the runaway skateboarder, and without so much as putting any effort into it, she slapped him in the back of the head.

"OW!" Yuli yelped in complaint, almost losing his balance and eating the concrete sidewalk. He shot Elayne a glare to which she coolly returned one of her own, that got him to flinch.

"That, Ryo _Junior_," she nonchalantly stated, "Was for leaving me to defend you against _Momzilla_."

Yuli chuckle and gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry, but even a team of renowned warriors that wear mystical armor can't diffuse her, like you can. Even Mia had trouble!"

"Huh? How's that possible?" Elayne blinked. "You were with them for the Nether Realm, New York, and Africa. I know you told your folks it was field trips, or you were hanging out with friends, but Mia still had to convince your Mom to let you go."

"Heh no she didn't," Yuli said with a half-hearted grin. "Mom naturally assumed they were actual field trips, and that Mia was just a chaperone. I never told either one the full truth, it worked out all right. But there were times where Mia had to come over and talk to Mom."

He took a pause saying, "Mia was good at appeasing Mom. You, on the other hand, can disarm her without even trying."

"Oh joy," Elayne sarcastically bit out. "I have found my special ability, diffusing uptight overprotective mothers. Fear me, I am Sailor Pacifier! And in the name of harmony, I will punish you!"

Yuli started to howl with laughter, his sides shaking from the effort…They shook so much he actually did lose his balance, fumbled to recover it and fell over anyway.

Elayne shook her head in amusement, well that had not been intentional on her part, but it was still funny. They had arrived at a little restaurant where they normally did their studying. Yuli stashed his skateboard with the bikes, and the two walked inside quickly taking a booth near the window.

* * *

After about a half hour, a milk-shake, and a textbook chapter later, the two had drifted onto a topic most familiar to them…The Ronin Warriors.

It was almost amusing to the girl, now, that she had somehow managed to connect with anyone ever involved with the warriors…Especially when it came to those people revolving around the Ronin.

Oh it had not started out that way; she had known Yuli for months before he had ever made a comment about his "oniichans." Then he had let something small slip about his one older brother that had taught him everything he knew about kendo.

She had never really called him on it, until a week later when he was talking about Kento…Because she knew exactly who he was talking about. No one else in the world could fit the description Yuli gave of the Ronin of Hardrock.

With as many times as she had listened to the guys talk about their fights, it almost seemed logical to her that she would become Yuli's ear. Because once the boy had realized she knew the guys that was the end of it.

Yuli had been ecstatic, and finally he had someone with whom he could talk to about his experiences. Adults would have laughed at him, his parents would have seriously questioned his health and cut him off from the guys completely, and the children his own age would have avoided him for saying such unbelievable things.

_ 'Well,'_ Elayne dryly thought. _'At least I'm good for something, helping relieve permanent trauma.' _It was not that she had anything against Yuli, she just had problems with being placed in this time…And knowing she had a major hand in that placement.

Yuli had been talking about Mukala, one of his favorite memories, actually…When he paused, "You okay?"

"Huh?" the girl snapped out of the daze she was in.

"I asked if you were all right," the young teen said slowly. "You keep drifting off, and you look like you're in pain." He said this because of the way she would wince every now and then.

Mentally she cursed herself, before reaching into her purse and pulling out the medication, quickly taking it. She finished the rest of her milkshake after taking the required dosage, and gave a wry grin, "Got those observation skills from Seiji-nii, huh?"

Yuli beamed at the praise, "And Cye. Seriously though, An-chan, are you okay?"

"I will be," Elayne tried to brush away his worry. "As soon as they all get back."

"Ah," the teen commented…She had mentioned it to him two or three days ago that the others had been gone for a bit, and she had no way of knowing when they'd be back. "Think they're making any progress?"

"Sort of," she was quiet now, thoughtful. "That or the enemy is full ready to bring this trap down around their ears."

Yuli gave her a sympathetic smile, he was all too aware of the fact that when things went down, Elayne was one of the first to know about it. Granted she didn't always know what it was at the time, but he had learned she was quick at figuring it out.

"Starting to wish you weren't so sensitive, huh?"

"Mhm," the girl breathed out, closing her eyes and then reopening them. "I need a distraction, Yul."

"Well," he had a thoughtful frown on his face, "That was the only thing I was having trouble with." He was referring to the schoolwork she had helped him with, "How about a game?"

"Oh," there was mischief in her eyes now. "That sounds great! I have the perfect one too; Truth or Dare."

Yuli let out a low moan he should have seen that one coming. Now it was too late, for once the girl was set on something nothing could be done to get her off of the chosen path. "Fine, your idea so you start."

"Truth or Dare, Yul?" Elayne asked in a sing-song voice.

Yuli frowned, he knew the girl well enough to know either choice was suicide, but he was also aware that she started out mild before working her way to worse things. "Truth," he shrugged.

"Okay," she grinned. "Out of all your blood relatives, who do you think belonged in Talpa's ranks?"

"My grandmother," he easily answered making a horrible face. "Truth or Dare, Layne?"

"Mm, dare," she responded a bored look on her face.

"Okay, I dare you to," Yuli paused and thought it over, "Sing a sentence in Italian."

She rolled her eyes skyward and did as he dared, but it was very brief…A big three words at the most.

"That's it?" Yuli arched a black-eyebrow at her.

"You said I had to sing a sentence, not a line from a song," Elayne pointed out, quick to get the next round. "Truth or Dare?"

The game continued for the next fifteen minutes with the dares and truths being relatively mild…Until Elayne got bored and decided it was time to take things up a notch.

When she asked him "Truth or Dare" this time he could see the glimmer in her eyes and the sly smile on her face, he knew he was in trouble, so he said, "Truth."

Elayne was practically beaming, Yuli having picked the choice she had hoped he would, "When you were little, which of the Ronin were you afraid of?"

"Hey!" the teen immediately protested. "That's not-"

"Are you forfeiting?" she sweetly inquired knowing that making such a comment would irritate him…He was like Kento and Ryo in that respect, they didn't happen to like losing.

He grumbled out a no, before frowning as he tried to think up an answer to that question. Well, she was not about to idly sit there, so she tried to help him out by guessing.

"Ryo?"

Yuli shook his head, "Ryo-nii-chan only ever lost his cool when the other guys were in danger, or when he felt he had completely failed them. I idolized him back then, still do as a matter of fact. I was never afraid of him."

"Not Gege," Elayne said as she offered up the Ronin of Hardrock, but she wrinkled her nose…She had never found him to be scary.

"Kento? No way," the teenager played with the straw to his milkshake. "The guy _looked _intimidating, but he really wasn't. It was like staring at a Grizzly Bear that was in all reality no different than a stuffed teddy bear. He always watched out for me, and he was the only one of the guys I don't think I ever annoyed. I even got on Ryo's nerves a few times, but never on Kento's."

"Yeah, Kento is just too tolerable," the girl lightly laughed, and tilted her head, "Rowen, then?"

"Mm," Yuli had to think about it for a few minutes. "No, he was unapproachable for a while. But I eventually learned how he thought and got why he acted the way he did, so it wasn't a problem. He was a really good tutor once he got past the "not everyone is as smart as he is" thing."

Elayne giggled at that, before grinning, "Oh, so it's Cye or Sage." She could not help but sound slightly pleased with herself…There was a reason for her doing this now, she wanted something to bait the guys with later. They might need the pick me up and distraction.

"Both?" Yuli sheepishly said, before letting out a nervous laugh when her eyebrows shot up. "Cye, he was cool. I always felt safe around him."

The teenager paused, "Except when he was angry, and I mean, he would get vengeful kind of angry. Then he was absolutely _terrifying_." Yuli sipped at his milkshake, "Sage, with his inward personality? Well I always thought he was just angry, or maybe indifferent. After meeting Date-sama though, I can't blame him for being the way he is."

"But?" Elayne pressed.

"When he's actually mad?" Yuli visibly shuddered, "He's definitely intimidating, 'specially to someone that happened to be my age at the time. Well, actually no, then he's _scary_."

"Hm, more or less, you're implying it's the quiet ones that have to be watched," Elayne mused with a small smile.

Yuli grinned, "Pretty much. Your turn again, Layne. Truth or Dare?"

"Mm, I'm bored with truth, dare me."

Yuli smirked, it was now time for some much needed payback, "You have to give a real kiss to Ryo, and it has to be verifiable."

"**_WHAT_**?" the girl jumped up from her seat, and outright gaped at him.

The teen's smirk had widened considerably, "Meaning I, or someone else, has to see you do it."

"Forget it," Elayne flatly stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I am not doing it for a plain dare. A money dare, _maybe_."

"How's five hundred yen?" Yuli offered up. Oh he knew she would have done it without pay, if he had goaded her on enough…But a little incentive never hurt.

"You're a cheapskate," she told him. "But, you are on. Shake on it?" She had extended her hand to him; he took it and then shook hands.

Elayne gave an inward chuckle, now quite pleased with herself. Taking Yuli's little dare meant that if she actually went through and kissed the Wildfire Ronin she would get a total of three-thousand yen out of the deal. Yeah, it was not the first time she'd been dared to kiss Ryo.

And, she planned to wait a bit longer to see if anyone else would dare her. Really, she was not that desperate for cash, but having some extra would help.

The look on everybody's faces was her true payment, because when she did it she was going to have a full audience. She would never admit that aloud though.

"I need to get back," Yuli announced. "I have an hour left, but getting in early makes me look better."

Elayne chortled at hearing this, "All right, then. Let's pay the bill, and head back."

"Works for me," Yuli chirped out.

* * *

_A/N:__ Jun/Yuli's parents are not named in the series, so I'm giving them names. Anyone who can come up with the official ones, please let me know what they are. Second of all, yes they are alive. The series did a poor job of stating whether or not Yuli got his parents back; in the episode with Sarenbo he's coming from somewhere to Mia's place, and the guys act like it's been a while since they've seen him. So I took it as meaning his parents were back. As to why he still played tag-a-long with the guys even after his folks were back, well I'm taking it his father was never around much, and that it's Mrs. Yamano that keeps the family in perfect order and all things on schedule. Yuli probably just told them he was going to his friends, or on "field trips" and never really gave them more than that. Them being so busy they never bothered to ask anything, until it was all over and done with. He might have been an annoying-eight-year-old in the series, but it doesn't mean the child was stupid._

_And yes I spell it 'Yuli;' that's how it was written on the back of one of the DVD boxes. That, and Yul Brenner didn't spell his name Ull Brenner. _


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**

* * *

**

Elayne and Yuli laughed as they made their way back to his house. The two were currently talking about things that had to do with everyday life. Tossing around stories about what foolish things teachers had done while they were in school and other things like that.

It was almost amusing that they were talking about such things, when before they had been on the topic of mystical armors, and evil demons.

Yet, one could not always spend their time talking about the Ronin Warriors, even though the two of them were more than capable of pulling that off.

They were most likely half-way back before Yuli brought up something that had been bothering him.

"Hey, Elayne?" He slowed down on his skateboarding to look at her.

The girl came to a halt, and tilted her head, "Ya?"

"I know you said they were gone, and most likely in a lot of trouble," the teenager paused, before asking, "But how bad off are they? You keep wincing, and I know it's not because you are the one in pain."

She touched a finger to the jewel around her neck, "I have no way of telling for certain. I just know it isn't going as well as they hoped, because they've been gone for too long."

"How long?" the teen asked.

She let out a sigh through her nose, "A week and a half."

"Seriously?" He nearly fell off his skateboard, and made a face. "Man, I wonder what Ryo-tachi are doing? They have been gone way too long. They were not even gone to the Nether Realm for that long before we showed up."

"I have no idea what they are doing, or what they were thinking," the girl grumbled out, pinching at the bridge of her nose. "They shouldn't have gone."

"I'm sure they'll be all right, Layne," Yuli commented understanding she was worried about them, "Those girls, whatcha call 'em…Ah Senshi, right. Anyway, Ryo-tachi are capable of pulling things off, and I'm sure the Senshi can take care of themselves."

"Ya, as long as the Ronin don't call Inferno," she moodily grumbled, a scowl framing her face.

The teen made another face, "I hope it doesn't get that ugly, I'd hate to see that armor now…If the guys' newer armors are as strong as you've said, man…"

"It's not the armors Yul, it's them," Elayne gave a shake of her head at his dumbfounded expression. "The armors are simply channeling the power the guys already have, and lending a bit of their own when necessary. But Inferno will take their power and the armor's power too."

"How do you know of all this?" he asked her in bewilderment.

The girl gave a wry grin, "Oh, I have ways of finding things out. Especially things I am not supposed to know. Also have this habit of _seeing_ things I shouldn't."

"Ah," the teen suddenly shivered. "Man the temperature is really starting to drop."

Elayne froze in place, her eyes widening as she could clearly detect the presence of rather familiar negative energy. "Yuli! Get yourself back home, now."

"What? Why?" he studied her with confusion on his face.

"I've been followed," Elayne cast a glance over her shoulder; the energy was coming from that way and approaching far too quickly for her tastes. "They haven't bothered with me in ages, so they definitely want something."

"Hey you want some help?" Yuli eagerly offered.

The girl gave a grin, "No thanks, Mr. Kendo-Champ...Sage, Junior." It faded though, "Sorry Yuli, but they can't find out you're connected to the guys too. Or your parents'll be in danger and I don't think we want to take that risk."

"No, you're right," the teenager admitted. "Putting myself and my folks in danger is a bad idea. I'll catcha later, An-chan. Be safe!"

"Will do," Elayne took off at a sprint now, going the opposite way he was….She could not risk him becoming involved in this too, Ryo-tachi would _strangle_ her.

It had only been a matter of time before the Raikken came after her again. She was a rather large loose-end that certainly needed tying up. Akemliek did not leave loose ends for he was very cautious when it came to such things.

Well, she planned to do everything within her power to prevent them from being "tied up" but there was only so much she could do. If Elayne did too much she would give away the worst secret she had been keeping…The real truth behind her existence.

Elayne checked to make sure there were no people around, before quickly ducking into an alley. Sure, it did not sound like a very sane idea, perhaps exceedingly foolish, but just like she couldn't risk Yuli's safety she couldn't risk a stranger's either.

Besides, while she might not have been anything special, she did know how to fight. Growing up with the Ronin Warriors and around the Sailor Senshi most certainly did have its advantages.

She got half-way down the alley, and drew to a halt. The girl then cautiously slid into a defensive stance her hazel-violet eyes scanning the area around her.

They were close, exceedingly so, and now they had paused in their advance…Obviously they had not been prepared for her to figure them out. She took in a breath, and then slowly let it out.

"Come out and face me," her voice was cool and calm. She had been dealing with Raikken far too long now to not know how to act when fighting with them. If anything had changed in all this time, it was the fact that they had been sent to kill her on orders.

Low chuckling reached her ears, and she steeled herself as three Raikken crawled out of the shadows.

_ 'Let the game begin,'_ she grimly thought.

* * *

Elayne had managed to work it down so that she had only one Raikken left to contend with, and then another one popped up. She gritted her teeth together in aggravation as it happened to be a higher ranking one too boot.

There was something else too, something that was nagging at the back of her mind. Suddenly she felt as though someone had kicked her against the ribs, and she reacted as such…But neither Raikken had been near her.

The girl shook herself, letting out a slight yelp as she narrowly avoided being speared to death. She dropped down, and struck out with her right leg knocking the Raikken backwards.

She quickly followed through by taking up the dagger she kept hidden in her boot, and ramming it up under its helmet. She moved back from her felled opponent, looking for the other one, but she was just too slow.

Elayne's legs were ripped out from underneath of her, and she used her hands to brace herself, losing her weapon in the process. She rolled to the side managing to disentangle herself from the chains, and then popped back to her feet before it could do anything else.

That was when she noticed the temperature had dropped considerably, and the Raikken dropped back.

"Kali?" Elayne's eyes widened and then narrowed as she took up a defensive stance again.

The ice demoness let out a low chuckle in amusement, "Well, I see you still are capable of handling yourself. That's impressive." She turned her eyes to the Raikken, "Leave, I shall take care of this."

It vanished as she had commanded, and Elayne tensed her muscles so that she was ready to move at a moment's notice.

"What do you want?" the girl demanded, her face was a mask of calm, but on the inside she was anything but.

"Hm," Kali let out a chuckle; jovially crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I wonder." She was going to taunt the girl, she felt entitled to it…Especially after having been shown up by the brat the last time. "I warned you when we first met that you were a person of interest. I implied we'd get to you eventually. Let's just say it's time to take care of you."

Elayne started to laugh, it was low at first but got louder…Yet, it was cold and also mirthless. Kali quirked an eyebrow, an annoyed look on her face, she failed to see what was so funny.

The girl quieted and a smile splayed across her lips, "So, they are giving you more of a fight than you counted on, eh? Serves you right for underestimating them. But, I get why you're here," the girl's eyes hardened. "And there is no way I am letting you use me as leverage. I'll _die_ first."

Kali curled her lips back in a snarl, "Trust me, I can easily arrange that."

"Be my guest then," Elayne spat, "I've got nothing I'd lament losing!"

The ice demoness took that moment to spring forward, and Elayne struck out with a fist not really intending to hit her, just throw her aim off. It worked and the girl skidded to the side, eyes searching for the dagger she had dropped…

She spotted it and then quickly returned her eyes to the ice demoness; she could not afford to spend too much time trying to make it obvious she was going after it.

The girl had no choice but to let Kali get in a few hits, it was the only way she could think of to get out of the situation…Let her think she had won, and then strike back at the last minute.

Kali had tired of this, and finally she knocked the girl down with a blast of energy…Elayne hit the ground face first, and her fingers reached the dagger and clenched around it, not willing to let it go. Luckily, Kali was not paying attention to that.

The ice demoness let out a snort, "Pathetic, you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble and pain. But, perhaps, it is just as well. They might bend more willingly if they see you have been harmed, in addition to being a prisoner."

Kali paused for a moment in her approach, and then stepped directly next to the girl, "Now, time to go."

"For you!" Elayne rolled to her side, and then sprang up thrusting her dagger into Kali's arm.

She gave a hiss in surprise and pain, before going to strike the girl down for good…She just did not get the chance. A loud roar sounded, and in seconds the tiger had taken Kali to the ground. Just as he was prepared to put his teeth into her throat she teleported off.

Elayne coughed a little, her eyes drooping…She tried to fight and stay awake but her vision was already out of control. Her body had taken too much, and her mind just could not cope.

* * *

She heard talking, and that is what started to bring her out of her unconscious state. The first thing she noticed was that her wrist was actually in pain, meaning if she could feel that, it was most likely broken.

Her entire body ached, but that had been going on for the past several days…She also felt exhausted, that was not anything new either. But who was talking and what were they saying?

_'Don't blame this on me,'_ the voice protested. _'It isn't my fault you are too **lazy**_.'

_ 'Lazy?' _White Blaze snarled out enraged.

Elayne finally let out a low moan, opening her eyes, "Ugh. Blaze, what the-" She had rolled around so that she was lying flat on her stomach, and took pause noticing whom was directly in front of her. "Kouken-Oh?"

The black tiger stopped staring down White Blaze to turn his full attention to the girl. He walked closer to her and gently butted his head to hers, squeezing his eyes shut, _'Hello, hime. You're lucky I was here to save you.'_

"In that case you should have come out earlier," Elayne dryly told him, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position…Wincing as she did so. She did not want to stand right away, wanted to give her body time to wake up first.

_'I want to know,' _White Blaze gritted out, just barely keeping his temper in check. _'What you are doing here.'_

Black Blaze was fully prepared to make some biting retort, but Elayne cut him off, "Oh _no _you two _don't_. I almost got my head smashed in; I am not listening to two jealous cats bicker. Got me?"

Both tigers quieted at hearing that, waiting for her to get to her feet before saying anything more. Elayne was careful to move slowly, but the minute she got to her feet she fell back against the building, her breathing horribly uneven.

"Crystal's been taking forever to heal," she mumbled out to the concerned looks she was getting.

In a few minutes she was able to stand without having to use the building for support, but she was still having trouble with walking. So she opted to stand still for a little bit.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Elayne queried with a frown, "I thought you were-"

_ 'Dead,'_ White Blaze finished ears almost flat against his head.

"No," the girl threw him a look, and he backed off. "Guarding the swords."

_'I was,'_ the black tiger admitted with a nod of his head. _'After that incident and the armors were destroyed the swords returned to their original resting place, and I as their protector went with them. I have returned because-_'

"The link to Inferno has been reestablished, thus waking you up?" She gave pause, "You can teleport, what took you so long in getting here?"

_'I was awake but there was no reason for me to show up,' _Black Blaze explained. _'However, there is to be soon. I can sense when the swords are needed, and they will be very shortly.'_

_ 'That is it,' _White Blaze announced, saying to Elayne, _'I was ready to go before Kali attacked you; that was the final straw. This information only conveys the fact it is urgent we go.'_

"Agreed," Elayne conceded with a nod, "Just let me get changed first, and grab a few things. Then we can go." She was referring to the fact her clothes were ripped and bloody, there was no way she was going to the warriors looking like that. The last thing she needed was another lecture.

The tigers nodded their understanding, and then left the girl to make her way back. They had to worry about getting out of the city without being seen, Black Blaze might have been able to teleport but it was pointless to waste the energy.

* * *

**Akemliek's Domain**

Kali let out a hiss of annoyance as she finished going through the painstaking task of healing the wound in her arm. Finally, the cut closed over and she let out a low growl before kicking at the table in her room sending the contents flying.

Thanos poked his head in, "I take it she put up more of a fight than we thought she would?"

"Oh no she put up the fight we thought she would," Kali gritted out, trying vainly to get her temper back under control. "She just did something unexpected at the last minute, and then a tiger jumped in."

"Of course, the cat would be there to protect her," he commented, frowning when she shook her head, "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Kali gave a low snarl, "The one that attacked me was completely black, it was impossible to see the striping on him, but it was there." Her eyes narrowed, "He would have given me an impossible wound to maneuver around."

"Ah," Thanos remarked, watching as his sister stalked from the room, heading towards Akemliek's chambers…He discreetly followed after casting a last glance over her room which looked like a tornado had hit it.

"Master," Kali announced herself. "I know you said the girl was now "on limits," but she seems to have more strength than what we first assumed her to have. I could not capture her she fought back at the last minute, and she was aided by a black tiger."

"Ah good, the bearer of the swords for Inferno has arrived then," Akemliek mused, before saying, "Do not worry about it, Kali. I thought it might be beneficial to have her as a captive, because she is more than an innocent…But, if you could not get her, then the plan was a poor one."

Thanos frowned, "Why the sudden change?"

"I had a hunch, and was merely playing it out," Akemliek commented, sitting down in his chair with a thud. "For her to be able to resist capture with a desperate act is not surprising, but for Kouken-Oh to help her is; that tiger aides no one but the person who bears the swords. At any rate, how goes all else?"

"Very well," Thanos said in a calm tone. "The final act is soon to begin, we are prepared."

"Then I shall leave you to your business, I shall be joining you soon," Akemliek chuckled in amusement after the two said their goodbyes and left. So the girl had put up quite the fight, and then the tiger had bailed her out…Well, that just proved his hunch correct and made this all the more entertaining.

He let out a sigh, pushed his hair back with a hand, and then tapped it against the chair's arm. It would not be too much longer now, and he was definitely looking forward to getting out of this seal Universe had shoved him into. He was tired of looking at these same pathetic walls, of course after a thousand years, who could blame him?

* * *

_A/N: "Hime" is an honorific and it's equivalent in English is 'princess.' The tiger gave the human a 'pet' name, what can I say?_

_These two chapters were a break from the "action" occuring in Akemliek's Domain, I figured I had to give you a slight break from all of that. Plus, the Truth or Dare scene last chapter was so much fun to write xD See you next time!_

_LG_


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

"Hey!" Sailor Venus greeted, after using her attack to dust several Raikken.

Sailor Moon let out a sigh of relief, before glomping the blonde Scout, "You okay?"

"Fine," she brightly chirped. "Saturn too." She motioned to the Outer Senshi who had come out of the tunnel behind her.

"See, knew I heard her," Mars commented to the Senshi of Pluto as they came out of the tunnel they had followed.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon proceeded to glomp her too.

The Fire Senshi sighed heavily through her nose, and rolled her eyes, "Hi."

At that moment, the Senshi of Jupiter and the Galaxy made their presence known, both having knocked a few Raikken out of the tunnel they were in, before destroying them.

"Gang's all here," Jupiter joked, motioning to Uranus and Mercury who had emerged from the final tunnel.

"Cute," Uranus commented rolling her eyes. "Certainly took us all long enough to find one another."

"Not like the enemy was being helpful, or our trinkets," Neptune said with a wry smile.

Sailor Moon was silent as she looked around her…Something was wrong, this place it felt too familiar and it made her skin crawl and stomach turn.

"Where are we?" she nervously queried. "I know this place. We've been here before."

Saturn warily scanned her surroundings, "Not sure."

"Okay," Sailor Mars brought in now with a frown. "If they let us find each other, does that mean the same for the Ronin?"

"Most likely," Pluto offered up. "They wanted to wear us down, that way we would not be as strong as a group."

"That, or they are getting impatient," Jupiter snorted out, whirling around upon hearing the approach of Raikken…A lot more Raikken.

Galaxy sighed heavily through her nose, "Here we go."

They managed to deal with the Raikken well enough. It had almost become routine now. Fight a demon, destroy it, move on to the next, and repeat the process.

"So, who aside from me," Jupiter brought in with a bored yawn, "Finds these fights to be overly redundant?"

It just felt, well, like it was getting old, that they were doing far too much of the same thing and not getting anywhere. To say the very least, it was absolutely frustrating.

Pluto shook her head, commenting with, "Be careful of what you wish for. We've been lucky that the fights have been light and easy to counter."

"That could easily change though," Saturn brought in now, hands instinctively tightening around her glaive. She could _feel_ it, there was a shift of negative energy just about to occur.

"Yeah, but it is still tiring," Sailor Moon remarked, blinking as the minimal light in the cavern slowly started to fade. In an instant, it had suddenly gotten _very _dark.

"Uh oh," Galaxy said, scowling a little, "Ya jinxed us."

"Heh," the Senshi offered in response, lightly shrugging her shoulders.

* * *

When the Raikken slid out of the shadows this time, the Senshi were not as well prepared for the attack. Nor were they anywhere near as strong since the darkness gave the demons a hefty advantage.

"Oh man," Glacia grimaced going from a sprint to a dead run now.

Aarde felt the earth beneath her feet tremble, as she moved, "What is going on?"

"Take it they're stepping things up," Empyrean called over her shoulder, having managed to take the lead now. However, the ground beneath them violently lurched again.

Nova let out a gasp as the earth beneath her feet completely gave way, and she was left mid-air with nothing to grab onto for support.

"Gotcha!" Glacia announced having managed to find a root to grab for support, and then latched onto her leader.

Nova let out a sigh, one of instant relief, before dryly remarking as she looked down, "Found the other Senshi."

"Hey!" Saturn jovially called up to them, a grin on her face, "Found a good vantage point?"

"Ha ha," Nova bit out, angrily saying, "Just you _wait_ till I get down there."

Empyrean and Aarde had managed to avoid getting caught in the rock slide, both know looked over the edge with their hands on their knees…Surveying the fighting below them.

"Good," Mercury's voice rang out from somewhere. "Hurry it up, we could use the back up."

"Coming," Nova called back, still very much hanging onto her teammate whom she now turned her attention to, "Heh, just drop me."

"Fine by me," the Senshi of Water and Ice quipped, immediately letting her go.

Nova let out a yelp as she began to plummet towards the ground, and screeched, "Not _**YET**_!"

"Whoops?" Glacia offered to Aarde and Empyrean who were just gaping at her.

Both were understandably shocked that the Water Senshi had done such a thing, normally she never did anything without giving some form of resistance to her leader. For her to just go through with an order, however lightly implied, was simply unheard of.

The Water Senshi just rolled her eyes as they continued to stare, and jumped down…That got them out of their stupor, and they were quick to follow.

Nova managed to recover enough to land somewhat on her feet, though she ended up crashing into a Raikken that had snuck up behind Sailor Mars.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem," the Elemental Leader was a little less than enthusiastic when she said that, and immediately her eyes landed on Glacia.

The Scout felt the look on her, and without even bothering to turn around she snorted out, "Don't look at me like that. Not _my_ fault for _your_ failure to specify."

Nova's eye twitched.

"All right, kill each other later," Uranus amusedly remarked, slicing through a Raikken with her sword. She had ended up summoning the trinket the moment it had gotten too dark to see…The object itself produced a minimal amount of light, just enough to discern friend from foe.

"What's with the impending darkness bit?" Aarde queried.

"No idea," Venus answered, using her attack to cut through several Raikken. "You're welcome to take a guess."

Empyrean gave a snort, "Oh, that's _comforting_."

"If I had to take a stab at it," Mars dryly remarked. "It's to limit our powers, while increasing their's."

Pluto gave a snort, someone should have made a "no duh" comment, but it was not going to come from her.

"But why _now_?" Neptune pressed.

Sailor Moon had been the furthest away from the others, having gotten side-tracked by the Raikken…Suddenly she let out a yell, before collapsing.

"Sailor Moon!" the Inner Senshi hollered at her.

"What the-" Uranus gasped out, narrowly avoiding getting skewered countering by stabbing the Raikken.

Nova shook her head, "We need to see what's going on, in order to tell what happened."

She held out her right hand and made a fist, conjuring her element into her palm.

The cavern immediately started to lighten, and the Raikken closest to her quickly backing off not at all appreciating the bright light.

Jupiter had managed to get to her leader and help her to her feet, "Okay…" She motioned with her free hand, "What is _**that**_?"

Being able to see the enemy enabled the Outer Senshi to quickly deal with the remaining Raikken…Now all of them stood before the anomaly Jupiter was referring to.

Nova raised her hand up, the light still very much concentrated within her palm, "It looks like a wall of ice."

"Ice wouldn't have zapped her like that though," Mercury brought in, computer and visor already up. "It's energy, in an extremely raw form."

"What's more," Glacia brought in now a scowl on her face, "Is that I can sense the Ronin, Elemental and Seasonal, beyond this thing."

* * *

"Okay, so I'll ask the obvious question," Venus remarked, "Why's it blocking just us?"

Saturn was pondering this over herself, and turned to Pluto, querying, "Originally, Akemliek was said to be our foe, right?"

"Yes," the eldest of the Senshi gave a nod to the affirmative. "Why do you mention it?"

"Before the Council was disbanded they sealed off the powers Nee-sama had, the ones they gave to her," Saturn murmured aloud, eyes moving up and down the block. "But, they had to do something with that energy. You can't just seal off power without directing it somewhere."

"You mean they used that power to make this, to keep us out?" Mars was definitely skeptical. "Why would they do that?"

Neptune was scowling, "Neo said there were those who would do anything to ensure we all failed again. They were counting on us eventually coming here to fight Akemliek, this was their last way of doing us harm without being directly involved."

"Clever," Jupiter commented. "And, if she hadn't said this was the Ronins' fight, they would not have come at all."

"Meaning all that power was directed to keep us out, allowing them to move right past it," Galaxy murmured.

"Well, it explains why so much of her hair is white," Uranus mused aloud, "That's an awful lot of power to be without."

All the Senshi turned their eyes towards her, and she blinked upon realizing they were staring at her. She raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You saw her?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Ya, before we came down here," the Scout of Uranus answered. "Apparently, she and Kayura, being guardians and all, are buddies and she visits for updates. I just woke up when I shouldn't have."

"Still," Jupiter grumbled out. "You're the only one of us to see her, other than the Elementals."

The four women had not that long ago admitted what had actually happened to restore their partners. After Kali's spell had latched onto them so deeply, Universe had sought out their help to fix the problem.

But, and they had stressed this; they had only seen her through dream it didn't mean she was alive. Now, of course, each of them knew better. Universe was alive and well, interfering where she could and when she wasn't supposed to.

"So? Uni and I go back a ways," Uranus shrugged her shoulders. "Don't take it personally, she never was much for working in a group anyway. Too independent for that."

"Okay, gals, not to intrude or anything," Aarde steered them all back to the problem at hand. "We need to figure out what we are going to do about our magical roadblock here."

Glacia hissed in a breath, "And preferably rather fast, because I don't like what I'm sensing from where the Ronin are, nor do I like the fact they are really far away. It's a miracle I'm even picking them up."

"Mercury?" Venus hopefully queried of the blue-haired Scout, who was still inputting data into her computer.

"Working on it."

"Okay, so just touching it will get us zapped," Galaxy mused before tossing her attack at the energy wall…It did nothing but splinter apart and come back at them, causing all the Senshi to duck.

"Oi!" Nova cried out, "Who'd you learn that one from, _Kento_?"

"Why not?" the Senshi retorted. "Elayne learned to be anti-social from Halo."

"Just _quit_ it," Saturn told the both of them, getting back to her feet.

Mercury put away her computer, and turned off her visor, running a hand through her short blue-hair before letting out a sigh.

She was quiet for several minutes before she spoke, "It's a seal, so no amount of calculating or planning is going to help. We have to take it down; it's the only way through."

"Brute force, _obviously_, is not going to work on that," Aarde remarked in reference to Galaxy's little display.

"Power might though," the Senshi of Mercury continued. "We've had to do such things in the past. I'm sure you've had to combine your powers at one point or another as well."

The Elemental Leader gave a nod to this.

"So, all of us combining our energy and throwing it at _that_?" Uranus sounded skeptical.

"Ya, sounds like a sure fire way to get us all killed," Glacia conceded with a nod. "But if anyone has a better idea, I would love to hear it."

There were no better ideas, no other options they could possibly take. Either they could wait here and die, try and get passed this thing and die, or get passed it and die later…All roads basically led to death, it was just a matter of picking their poison.

Silence weighed heavily on them all…Before, the cavern filled with their voices as they called upon their powers and turned the collective energy loose on the barrier.

The Imperium Silver crystal gave a violent chime as the powers connected, and they all watched in shock as the wall shattered into pieces. The shards of energy vanished just before touching the ground.

"It worked!" Venus remarked, before letting out a whoop. All the Inner Senshi were obviously relieved, and even the Outer had smiles on their faces.

"Save the celebrating for later," Empyrean had jumped forward just as the wall broke, and now she went into a run.

"Ya, we still have Ronin to bail out," Nova remarked in amusement, before she and the other Sailor Elementals dashed off.

"Kill joys," Sailor Moon blandly commented.

The Outer Senshi laughed at this, before both groups darted after the four Elemental Senshi. There was no way for any of them to know, that they would arrive too late to stop what had already been set into motion.

* * *

**Outside the Shinkwako Grounds**

The tigers had patiently waited for the girl to reappear; she had disappeared inside just as their front paws had touched the Estate grounds. It hadn't taken her very long to change, and when she came back out she had been wearing a light jacket overtop of her clothing.

The crystal didn't exactly regulate her body temperature the way the armors and Senshi powers did. Not like it mattered to her, the jacket was only really for show so the white tiger wouldn't bug her about it.

They had walked in silence for a long while before White Blaze let out a disgruntled rumble, _'You should have worn a thicker jacket.'_

"Look _Mom_," she scoffed and rolled her eyes, she had known he was going to make a comment sooner or later. "Anything heavier than a windbreaker will restrict my body movement. Even this will make fighting difficult if I have to do any, and I'm assuming I will with my luck."

_'It'll be colder in the tunnels,' _the white tiger pointed out.

Elayne gave a shake of her head, "I have minimal feeling remember? I can't even tell it's cold now, and it's dropped to like six degrees."

_'Not like you care one way or the other, ne?'_ Black Blaze chuckled out.

"Exactly," the girl said with a nod, before frowning. "Hey you two, are we there yet? We've been walking for a half-hour already."

The great white tiger came to a halt as he checked over his surroundings, _'Hm, well it has definitely changed with all the time that has passed. But, I can tell that Rekka-cub went this way.' _He continued with his languid walk.

"What are you? A bloodhound?" the girl jovially teased him, but her taunt went on ignored, except for the slight twitch of his tail.

As the three of them steadily plodded their way towards the enemy's domain, Elayne could feel that something was wrong. She wasn't quite sure what, but something was going on.

The knot that had been in her stomach tightened, and she suddenly felt as though someone had kicked her hard in the ribs. The girl went down on her knees and took in a shuddering gasp…The crystal around her neck glowed.

Both tigers had paused in their walk, and now swerved around to face her, very much alarmed.

_'An?'_ White Blaze came to her side instantly, worry plaguing his brown eyes.

Black Blaze gently butted his head to her arm, and let out a low whine, but she made no move to respond or acknowledge them…She couldn't.

Her vision spun a moment, and then it felt as though everything around her stopped completely…Before reluctantly starting back up again. She let out a shaky breath, before reaching out and stroking both cats letting them know she was all right.

"It's the Senshi, they broke the seal," Elayne finally said after a moment or two of reflection.

_'Then we best hurry,'_ the black tiger remarked, and White Blaze nodded in agreement.

Elayne drew herself to her feet, all traces of her earlier fit now completely gone, and without a word further the three broke into a run. The two tigers knew that every second wasted would be too costly, they had to get there before it was too late to be of use.

But, were they already too late?

* * *

_1 Again, this is in Celsius. 6 degrees Celsius equals around 43 degrees Fahrenheit._

_ A/N: Happy St. Patty's Day! I figured I drew it out long enough and you were entitled to two more chapters...Especially when I plan on only letting you have one next month._

_LG_


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

"Been rather quiet since the Senshi left," Sekhmet remarked as he and the swordsman of Halo continued their walk. Without the Senshi they had stopped to take fewer breaks in this seemingly endless walk to nowhere. Of course the downside for Sekhmet, was that there was no one to talk to.

Sage gave a snort, "Not really. You haven't been quiet for more than five minutes."

"Ho funny," the Fall Seasonal commented. "Not my fault your being quiet gives me the creeps."

The blond swordsman actually stopped dead in his tracks, the look on his face one of pure disbelief. Had the former Warlord of Venom just implied he was eerie?

"Sekhmet! You were a _Warlord_!"

"So?" the green haired man retorted with a scoff, and added, "You're _still_ creepy."

Laughter sprang up from around them, and a familiar voice slyly commented, "You should take that as a compliment Halo. Especially since it's coming from _him_."

Sage let out an annoyed growl, and said something he had always wanted to say, "Cale? Drop dead."

The Ronin of Torrent emerged from the same tunnel as the Winter Seasonal and blinked slightly taken aback by what he had just heard.

A frown framed Cye's face as he queried, "Ya all right there, Sage?"

"Oh yeah, I'm _peachy_," the man dryly answered, the sarcasm quite thick in his voice.

"Hey, since when have you vocalized your grumpiness?" Kento cheerfully inquired.

Sage had a smirk on his face, as he retorted with, "Hot dog."

"EH? _**What**_?" the bearer of Hardrock's left eye started to twitch.

Anubis let out a chuckle as he commented, "Good to see your spirit is well, Sage."

"Energy's been getting to me for a while now," the bearer of Halo admitted. "If I don't make an effort, the armor's just going to collapse on me."

"Doesn't he normally have to make an effort?" Kento muttered out his question. "The guy's usually got as much emotion as a Maneki Neko."

Cye heard this and blinked before sending the Ronin of Hardrock a reproving look. Kento merely mumbled out a 'what, it's true!' in response to it.

"Yup, they're definitely here," Kayura cheerfully announced, pausing to glance down, "Hi boys! How's it going down there?"

"Kayura, Rowen," Cale said in acknowledgement. "So nice of you to come."

Sekhmet gave a snort and rolled his eyes saying, "How about joining us?"

"Hm," the Lady Ancient put a finger to her lips, then turned to the archer, "Should we?"

"Mm, couldn't hurt," Rowen shrugged in response, before saying with a grin, "Ladies first."

"Why you're too kind," Kayura joked before jumping down.

Rowen chuckled and followed after her, "Ya. Just don't expect me to give up being a samurai in order to become a knight."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she said with a laugh.

All the others stared at the two of them, then at one another, and then back at them again. Obviously, they had seriously _missed_ something. Kayura and Rowen getting along like that? Yep, they had definitely failed to receive the memo that went out.

* * *

"Well at least most of us are here now," Cye remarked. His main concern was for Ryo, the last time he had seen his leader had been just before they got separated.

The Ronin Leader had not looked that well off back then, the bearer of Torrent could only imagine how much worse his friend had gotten.

Anubis gave a nod, "Yes, but Ryo should be well." The Spring Seasonal seemed to know what was on the Ronin's minds. "Dais must be with him."

The four Ronin Warriors frowned, exchanged looks with one another, before nodding, and turning their attention to Anubis.

"Anubis," Rowen hesitantly began, looking to the Warrior of Strength for help.

Kento gave a loose, if not nervous, shrug of his shoulders, "We're not quite sure how to tell you this…"

"But, well, the truth is the matter is," Cye brought in now.

Sage gave a shake of his head, saying, "It's _Ryo_ we're talking about."

"He's always in life-threatening danger," the four of them finished, and then let out despairing sighs.

The Spring Seasonal could only helplessly blink at what they had said, while Fall and Winter outright laughed.

"Oh, some friends you guys are," Kayura remarked though she was beyond amused at what had been said.

The Ronin of Hardrock gave another shrug, "We're his friends, and teammates. Doesn't mean we're going to lie." The other three nodded in agreement.

Now, the Lady Ancient laughed behind her hand, "You guys are too much."

Suddenly, the warriors tensed as they felt the rise in the negative energy surrounding them. It was quickly followed by the sounds of battle. Not a one of them said a word, as they ran towards where the noise was coming from and withdrew their weapons.

* * *

**Outside the Entrance**

Elayne drew to a halt as the two tigers running in front of her had slid to a stop. They were standing near a very long natural stone wall, but there was no entrance in sight.

_'It ought to be here,'_ Black Blaze said sounding perplexed.

The girl's hazel-violet eyes rapidly scanned the rock in front of her, "It's an illusion, but the power they put into it must be strong enough to distort your ability to see through it."

She quietly approached the wall, before letting out a choked gasp quickly grabbing at her left arm as pain flared up within it.

Once more the white tiger was concerned, _'What is it?'_

"The closer I get to where they are the more keenly I can sense the pain they're in," Elayne responded as she stepped forward forcing the pain from her mind and letting her hand drop back to her side. She traced her hand over the rock, and then it slid through, "Found the entrance, come on boys."

The tigers were quick to follow her; Blaze remained on her right side, while Black Blaze stationed himself to her left.

The air was thick and suppressive down here, but the trio did not bother to stop and take notice of it.

_'It's been too long since I traversed these caverns,'_ the black tiger brought up. _'It all looks different.'_

Elayne's breathing was still off, she was nervous it revealed itself when she spoke, "They've disrupted time and space here. It's not flowing right."

_'Do we go through or around?'_ White Blaze queried of his two companions.

A frown was on Elayne's face as she thought it over, either option had the potential to take far too long. They didn't have time to waste with such flimsy traps.

"Neither," she finally announced, placing her hands over the crystal. The jewel gave a soft chime and reversed the energy's polarity, the distortion faded, letting normalcy over take the cavern.

_'Impressive,'_ the black tiger murmured.

"No, just effective," the girl corrected him, before breaking into a run once more. The two tigers glanced at each other for a moment, gave the equivalent of a shrug and then took off after her.

* * *

Ryo dodged to the side and brought up his sword, easily impaling a Raikken on it. His blue-eyes shifted to the right and he didn't hesitate to dispose of the Raikken there.

For now, his breathing was even, his energy had stopped draining and he was at a point where he could fight without causing himself too much harm. He wasn't quite sure if it was his own energy, or the armor of Wildfire that was currently sustaining him. Either way, he just hoped it would last.

"Crap!" the Ronin of Wildfire hissed in a breath, one of the demons had snuck up behind him, and proceeded to slam into his armor.

He was jostled forward due to the great force with which he had been struck, and nearly into the two waiting spears…But someone sliced through the Raikken holding the weapons and it all burst into ash.

Ryo regained his footing easily enough, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Miss us?" Sage queried as he then turned around to deal with more of the demons.

The Ronin Leader chuckled in amusement, "You guys have excellent timing."

"Well," Cye cheerfully stated, "It's not like you are that hard to find."

Kento grinned coming to Ryo's left side, "Ya, if there's a fight you happen to be in the middle of it."

"Can't help myself," the raven-haired man joked. "Hung out with you too much."

"HEY!" the bearer of Hardrock exclaimed with an annoyed look on his face.

Starta's bearer chortled as he let out an onslaught of arrows, felling several dozen Raikken. "He's got ya there Kento."

Ryo shook his head at them in belated amusement…Here he had been worried about them, that they had face overwhelming odds and barely struggled to get by.

Yet, they were fine; if not slightly rowdier than what they normally were.

"Uh oh," the Warrior of Strength blinked as he noticed the number of Raikken were growing. As well as realizing something else, "We lost Kayura and the Seasonals."

"Are you kiddin me?" Strata's bearer queried as he continued his rapid-fire maneuver.

"Nope, he's not," Sage added in now, "Obviously, they don't want us in anything more than our own groups now."

"_Obviously_," Cye snorted out with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

The tigers did not bother to halt when the tunnel broke into two distinct passage, they merely took the left tunnel. Without the distortion they could easily sense where they needed to go, and the girl managed to keep pace with them.

They turned left once more, and then took a right. She didn't have to question their directions as she could sense where the Ronin were as well. The enemy just didn't seem to be capable of blocking abilities that worked different than the warriors…Not like any of them were going to complain about it.

_'We are close,'_ Black Blaze announced, _'And I can hear the sounds of a battle not that much further ahead of us. I have no idea where the Senshi are.'_

Elayne drew to a halt as they did, reaching out slightly with her senses and then pulling back, "They're behind us, by quite a way. With the distortion gone it'll be easier for them to get here, but it's going to take them at least twenty minutes, more than that maybe."

_'Kayura-tachi is closer,' _White Blaze looked to his right,_ 'Ten minutes that way. They're encountering heavy resistance though.'_

_'I am unsure as to what to do,' _the black tiger rumbled quietly._ 'I doubt my appearance will do anything to help the Ronin right now. Perhaps, I should stay here?'_

"That's probably wise Kouken," Elayne said with a wry grin. "It's going to be hard enough for them to swallow that Blaze and I are here.

_'Agreed,' _he chuckled_, 'I will wait here.' _

"Easier for you than for us," Elayne called over her shoulder, as she chased after White Blaze who had immediately sprung off.

It was not that hard for her to catch up with the cat, for he had again come to a stop. The five were around the next bend; they were fighting and struggling to overcome the enemy.

"They're worn out," she worriedly mumbled to the tiger, being able to sense how they were from here. "And still very much scattered apart."

_'Rekka-cub?' _White Blaze inquired, looking to the girl for an answer.

Normally he could tell when his cub and his friends were in danger, and what type of danger they were in…But the massive energy down here in this domain had always disrupted his acute senses.

Elayne seemed to pale as she checked it further, "Bad, Wildfire's taken a real beating so has he. Come on Blaze, you didn't come all this way to sit on the sidelines and neither did I."

_'Agreed,' _the tiger said with a nod, before striking forward, the girl followed after him.

* * *

Dais materialized out of nowhere, as was normal for him, and came alongside Sekhmet, "Having fun?"

"Loads," the green-haired man grinned as he hacked through the Raikken

The Summer Seasonal permitted himself a chuckled before striking out at the enemy, and then falling in behind Kayura.

"Where have you been?" the Lady Ancient did not even have to look over her shoulder to know who was standing there.

"Around," the white-haired man offered in response before adding, "I was with Wildfire, but somehow they managed to push me out this far. Even with my leveling scores of the things."

Anubis heard this and scowled, "We need to get to him then."

"Of course, keeping us all preoccupied like this, Kali could engage him and force the Ronin to call Inferno," Cale nodded in understanding of the Spring Seasonal's message.

Kayura cut through the two Raikken she had been fighting with, "And we need to be there. There's no telling how Inferno will affect them, we have to assume the worst."

"Agreed," Dais commented.

Sekhmet snorted at their conversation, "Less talking, more fighting."

They merely rolled their eyes at him in response to that.

* * *

_A/N: _

_Maneki Neko: The literal translation is "beckoning cat." They are those cat statues depicting the Japanese bobtail (most times), with it's paw raised. It was the only Japanese statue that I happened to know the name of, and one of my inside jokes with Yesterday's Tonic is that Sage is a cat; mainly because he acts like one._

_And yay, we're actually getting to what I consider the good parts of the story. Anyone looking forward to the Ronins' reaction? Has Elayne lost her mind? I don't know, you hang out with people that used to save the world as teenagers, and now you're a teenager (and said world heroes continue to treat you like your nine)...Would you have that much sanity left? At any rate, see you at the next update!_

_LG_

* * *


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

Kento brought down his staff on several Raikken, his mind was completely focused on the task at hand. It was just a matter of getting through this, it seemed to him it had always been a matter of surviving.

But, even this was different. No one had really had it out for them before, sure the Warlords had tried to kill them...However, Talpa had wanted them alive. Even the deranged Suzunagi had needed them alive. It had always been about the armors and the armors powers.

This time it was about them, about their power and their lives.

Akemliek, for whatever reason, wanted them dead and if anyone could kill them they were more than welcome to it. Hence his reason for focusing so much on the fighting before him, one slip up and it could get him injured and put his friends in jeopardy.

For if he got into trouble they would be quick to help him out. He wasn't going to do anything to put them in harm's way, Kento just wouldn't take that chance.

His blue eyes swerved around the battlefield, he took note that they had all become separated, and were quite far apart. He could barely see Cye, and he couldn't see his leader at all. That worried him a lot.

Kento had seen it earlier, Ryo was slowly, but steadily, falling in on himself. The Warrior of Strength feared that Wildfire's bearer was just going to collapse if the fighting got any worse. And, Kento knew it was soon to get worse, he could feel it.

Over half the cavern away, Ryo brought up his katana managing to block one strike, though he was hit with another that nearly knocked him over. He gritted his teeth together in annoyance, he was tired, sore, and the Inferno armor was pushing at him, demanding to come through.

Within the past few weeks he had become used to it's pull as it tried, vainly, to reassert itself. He wasn't going to let it though, not until _he_ called for it.

The Wildfire Ronin knew he couldn't take much more of this, for his body was starting to show signs of the strain he was currently under. He bit down a yelp as pain lanced throughout his body, and he crumpled to the ground.

* * *

White Blaze came around the corner, Elayne at his heels. His brown eyes took in the surroundings with much disdain and worry; he could not see Ryo at all. Elayne let out a hiss of annoyance grasping her arm again, her own eyes moved rapidly across the cavern.

"Found him," she moved forward tossing over her shoulder. "Watch my back boy!"

_'Right,'_ the tiger followed discreetly behind her, lunging at any Raikken that dared to stray too close.

"Ryo?" Elayne called out, side-stepping two Raikken causing them to spear each other instead of her.

The girl kneeled down next to the Ronin of Wildfire, reaching out a hand and placing on his cheek, she quickly recoiled feeling the pain shoot up her arm.

Now that knot in her stomach hardened, "Ryo?"

"Huh?" the Ronin Leader jerked his head up, startled his eyes blinked a little, "Elayne? What are you doing here!"

"I'll tell you later," the girl murmured eyeing the white tiger he was currently keeping the Raikken off of them. "Can you stand?"

"Maybe," Wildfire's bearer sucked in a breath, and pulled himself together slowly starting to get up. "You shouldn't be here. Its-"

Elayne gently pushed him out of the way of an attack with the back of her hand, using the other to make a fist and ramming it up underneath the Raikken's helmet, it fell backwards and slammed against the floor then dispersed into ash. "That one was compliments of Kento."

"Right now you're in a hell of a lot more danger than I am," She told the Ronin Leader, turning her attention back to him her eyes widened, "Ry, what did they do to you?!"

Even though the push had been gentle, he had fallen over backwards anyway. He was just too worn out, and that was becoming painfully apparent with each moment that passed.

"N-nothing," Ryo hauled himself back to his feet, "Its Wildfire, there's something wrong with it. And me, my power just keeps fading."

Elayne did not reply to this, she simply scowled and took up a defensive stance. Even though White Blaze had been tearing down Raikken, there was enough of them, that they had now circled around her and the Wildfire Ronin.

Ryo tried to move in front of her and she shook her head no, right now he was the one in need of protecting not her.

Her hazel-violet eyes tried to pick through the Raikken and her senses tried to filter past the negative energy as she tried to locate the nearest Ronin. It took her a few minutes but she finally located one of the others.

_'Sage!'_ the girl now went into a more aggressive stance, the Raikken had strayed far closer than before, and were within striking distance.

The blond swordsman almost completely lost his concentration, not having been prepared for the sudden interruption. He was quick to deal with the Raikken that had ganged up on him, responding tentatively with, _'Imouto? Where are you?'_

_'Behind you by no more than twenty feet,'_ she easily responded, quickly adding. _'Look, we both know what you're going to say next. So lecture me later, I need help...Actually, Ryo does. He's bad off, Nii-chan. And while I might be capable of dealing with Raikken, I know my limits.'_

The Ronin of Halo made no return comment, side-stepping a blow and ramming his no-datchi through a Raikken, before making his way over to where they were. Oh, he'd be sure to lecture her later all right. Well, not really lecture, more like ask if she had completely lost her grip on sanity. What was she doing down here?

The girl proceeded to kick out a Raikken's legs, slipping down she grabbed her dagger and sprung back up, embedding the blade where the armor did not protect the demon. It instantly burst into ash, and she pulled back going back to her stance directly beside the Wildfire Ronin.

Ryo had struck out at two before pulling back, at this point he was grateful for whatever help he could get. He really wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last if he just kept on fighting without a break.

Elayne moved through two more in a similar way, making sure to get the blade in deep enough to kill them before pulling back and covering Ryo. White Blaze quickly lunged forward taking out a Raikken that would have struck his cub.

"You losers need to back off," her whole body was tense and the agitation she felt was growing with each passing moment.

Sage had seen Elayne make work of the Raikken, and instantly surprise washed over him. Oh he knew she could fight, he had taught her how to defend herself just like the other Ronin had, but the way she was fighting now reminded him of someone else.

He was quick to push the thoughts from his mind, he didn't have time to worry about that right now, he was far more concerned about what she was doing here, and the condition of his leader.

"I leave you alone for not even five minutes," Sage commented with a grin, as he moved through the Raikken cutting down as many as he could before walking into the middle of the circle. "And you're already in trouble?"

Ryo let out a chuckle, and then winced his stance faltering slightly. It was so small, hardly noticeable but more than enough to alarm the blond swordsman.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Ryo breathed out, his brows furrowed as he tried to force himself to breathe normally.

"Imouto," Sage cast a side-ways glance at her, "Right now I don't care how you got here. What I want to know is if you can reach the others like you did with me."

"They're blocking your mental communication?" the girl asked blinking slightly. "Wow, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised, if they were desperate enough to do one thing, why wouldn't they do another?"

The Ronin of Halo frowned not quite sure if he wanted to understand the meaning behind her words.

"I guess I might," Elayne finally admitted, "I was able to reach you because you and I have always communicated differently; we've never needed a mental line to speak to each other's thoughts."

"And you need that for the rest of us?" Ryo queried, and frowned when the girl shook her head no.

"No, I'm just lazy, it's easier for me to communicate that way," she said with a wry grin. "It's harder to talk to others by speaking directly to their thoughts, requires more concentration. Just make sure one of those goons doesn't kill me."

Sage and Ryo both exchanged looks before nodding in agreement.

_'Is there anything specific you want me to tell them?' _the girl queried.

_'Yes, we need to re-group and now,'_ the swordsman responded.

Elayne shrugged her shoulders, teasingly commenting, _'Okay dokey, I'll rally your troops for you.'_

* * *

_'Hello Ronin Warriors, this is your friendly tag-a-long paging you at the request of Sage.'_

"Mei mei?" Kento blurted aloud, and then thought about hitting himself over his head with something for that. _'Mei mei, what are you talking about?'_

_'Sage is calling for a regroup,' _the girl answered, making sure Rowen and Cye got that message as well. _'Ryo isn't faring so well, I mean he can barely stand up.'_

_'You're here?' _Rowen cried out at her, eyes swerving to where he sensed his leader. Yup, she was definitely there.

Elayne snorted out loud, and tossed her dagger over her shoulder, it embedded into the throat of a Raikken that had been going to knock out Sage.

Both he and Ryo both looked at her in surprise, she had been still for quite sometime, and the sudden movement had caught them at unawares. Not to mention how accurate her aim was.

Again that thought crossed Sage's mind, but he had to push it away just as he quickly, now was night the time to ponder such things.

_'Captain Obvious,'_ Elayne finally retorted to him. _'Honestly you guys where else would I be that I could speak to you like this?'_

_'Dunno, but Ro has mentioned that you and Sage have this strong 'twin-like' connection,' _Cye told her.

"He's a blabbermouth," she moodily complained to herself, before rolling her eyes.

Sage saw this action and quickly queried, "Are they coming? Or are they too busy arguing with you?"

"No worries, the rest of the Moron Unit are coming," she reassured him, now going back to fighting, making her way and retrieving the dagger she had thrown.

She was quick to forgo fighting and just rush back to the center of the circle, sure she could be reckless and do as much fighting as she wanted...She just didn't want to listen to certain Ronins and Senshi lecturing her on the evils and dangers of fighting such foes.

Gah, sometimes she wondered if they thought she was stupid and helpless. Then she would nearly hit herself in the head, telling herself "no duh."

The Ronin of Wildfire gave a chuckle, he was starting to hold his own again. His strength had stopped fading once more, enabling him a bit more strength to fight with. It was not a whole lot, but for now it was enough. Inferno had stopped pressing him as well, it had gone quiet for the moment. He just hoped things would stay this way for just a bit longer.

"We went from the Eyecandy Brigade to a unit of morons?" there was amusement in Ryo's voice, which slightly masked the pain he was in.

"Whoever said you went from one to the other?" Elayne quipped, slyly grinning. "You guys happen to be both."

White Blaze chortled at the looks on the two Ronin's faces, saying to the girl,_ 'You hand out such wonderful compliments!'_

* * *

Elayne looked up to see that some arrows were heading their way, she quickly shoved the Raikken she had engaged directly into the path of the one, saying when it exploded, "Nice shot, Ro!"  
The archer merely shook his head at her, and Cye, who had come up right next to him, gave the girl a look. It clearly stated his question, what was she doing here?

Elayne was wise and ignored it, dropping back to the middle as Kento approached and took up where she had been standing,

The girl grabbed Ryo's wrist, and gave a forceful tug pulling him back with her.

"HEY!"

"Shut up," the girl's tone spoke that there was no room for argument. "Lot of good you're going to do them, if a Raikken rams a sword through you. Just give me five minutes."

"For what?" Confusion was present in Ryo's face, as he sheathed his swords.

The girl placed her hands on his shoulders and then slid them up to his neck, where the armor did not cover. She tried not to grin at the lost look on his face. She then queried in a soft tone, "What? Suddenly lost your faith in me?"

She was quick to become serious and get to the point, "I can channel energy and pain, normally in limited amounts. Either way I have to try, because you need it off of you."

_'This is risky.'_

_'Be quiet Simoria, you're not supposed to be awake as it is, don't push my temper and your luck,' _Elayne told the woman, quickly turning her attention back to the task that lay before her.

Really, channeling the way she did? It was not anything more than taking the pain, filtering it, and returning it as energy to the person. She had been doing such things for the Elementals since she was twelve, and she was more than capable of doing it now.

The only difference was the Ronin were a lot stronger than the Senshi, and currently Ryo was in a lot more pain than what she was used to channeling. But at this point, her taking on more pain wasn't going to bother her that much. Also, if her hunch was correct if she took it, it'd alleviate the pressure on the other four.

Elayne finally pulled back, and let out a breath she had been holding, "Okay, I lied, three minutes."

"Thanks," Ryo offered her a smile, most of the color had returned to his face, and he could definitely move easier than before.

There was also a change in the other four, they were no longer as weighed down...True, the five young men were exhausted, but the added strain was now gone.

"No problem," the girl told him, blinking in surprise after he kissed her forehead. She snorted, "Suck up."

"I was-I mean…Bah forget it," the Ronin of Wildfire told her rolling his eyes, stepping to the side and withdrawing his swords.

The girl permitted herself a snigger, before moving back a bit, eyeing the exit.

"Where are you going?" Kento had turned around to notice that she had moved rather far away from them.

"Making myself scarce," Elayne replied with a grin. "No worries, I've only been doing that since I was eleven, you can ask Nova-tachi about it sometime. One less thing for you guys to worry about it." She did not wait for them to acknowledge her comments, nor offer up protests of it.

She slipped back into the tunnel, and then hauled herself up onto a ledge she had noticed was there earlier.

Elayne would sit up here and wait until something happened that she could get involved in, and not to her surprise someone was already there, "You're lazy Kouken-Oh."

The tiger gave a soft snort,_ 'I am simply waiting until I am needed.'_

"Ya, ya. Whatever," the girl waved him off. She wasn't buying _that_ excuse.

* * *

_A/N: Originally I was only going to give you one chapter this month, but in light of the fact the next chapter ends on a much better cliffhanger, you get two._

_Enjoy!_

_LG_


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen:**

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* * *

**

Rowen managed to catch his breath for a brief moment, before having to jump back into the fray and help out the Ronin of Torrent, by keeping the Raikken off of him.

The archer's midnight-blue eyes moved rapidly across the cavern, and a scowl formed on his face. Once more they had become separated from one another, it had happened slowly this time but the fact of the matter was that it had still happened.

With every minute that passed their situation grew dimmer, and the five of them were starting to grow desperate. They could not last against these hordes for much longer as they were slowly starting to crumble under the pressure.

Things had only spiraled further downhill moments before, when laughter rang out in the cavern and Kali finally bothered to show herself. Currently, the ice demonness was fighting Cye, which was why Rowen was working so hard to keep the Raikken away from Torrent's bearer.

The demons, while for the most part dimwitted and useless, had no problems taking cheap shots, a truth they had all quickly figured out. The Raikken would fight as told, but they tended to only put in an effort if they had some sort of advantage. With their mistress here, they had an advantage because the Ronin would be distracted with trying to contend with her.

The Ronin of Trust was not backing down at all, any hit she gave him the man was quick to bounce back from, and return the favor. Cye was angry, and the bearer of Strata knew that all too well.

He was also very much aware that Torrent was at his fiercest when he was angered, and not someone you could take lightly. It had been building steadily, because Rowen felt that same annoyance himself.

Kali showing up now? It had only conveyed to them that she was prepared to force them into using Inferno. This fact had completely brought out the rage building up in Cye, and he was turning it loose on the ice demonness.

'_Good,'_ Rowen thought to himself, as he took up his fighting a notch. He was trying hard not to expend too much energy while at the same time dealing with the Raikken that just would not stop coming. _'She deserves it.'_

The archer paused, caught his breath again, then returned to fighting as hard as he could. There just seemed to be no end to them, but it made sense. Akemliek had plenty of time, far more than Talpa, to build up an army and then set it onto all of them.

It was no wonder this place was crawling with such despair, he just wondered how much longer it would be before that negative emotion got to all of them. Oh, he was certain it had already started, but he worried about what would happen with their continued exposure to this. Of course, none of it would matter if they didn't get out of this battle alive.

Before and during their fight with Suzunagi, if one could call it that, they had wanted nothing more to do with the armor…Almost nothing to do with each other.

They had thought their days as Ronin Warriors were over, even though the power of the armor still remained within them. In the end, they had come to accept the fact they would always be Ronin and that they did not have to take that burden on alone. It had given them a sense of self once more, and a slight peace of mind.

But now? Knowing that they had always been bearers of the armors, knowing that they had never really had a say in it, and realizing the fights they had already partaken in were no different than "tests"…They had become resentful.

_'Or at least,'_ the archer grimly though, _'I have.'_

Yet, he had also come to the realization that the armor itself was just as resentful of the truth as he was…Actually, Rowen understood that Strata's anger stemmed from the fact the real truth had been kept secret.

It did not appreciate the Elders failing to say all that they knew, nor did it like the fact its bearer was almost completely unaware of the past. Why the archer knew this, still was a mystery to him but the fact of the matter was he _knew._

Rowen was getting tired of the endless fighting…He wanted an end to this, they all did. They just weren't going to get one anytime soon.

* * *

Kali suddenly left Cye and went right for Ryo as she could see he was fighting with almost no energy whatsoever. The demonness easily shoved the Ronin Leader to his knees, and she was prepared to do further.

"Back off, Ice Queen!" Kento snapped at her, smashing her back and off of Ryo with his staff.

The Warrior of Strength now stood protectively in front of his leader, his eyes narrowed as he quickly twirled his naginata, blocking her retaliatory strike with ease.

"You okay?" Kento queried not daring take his eyes off his opponent for even a second, knowing it could prove costly. The demonness wasn't playing games with them this time, she was serious.

Kali let out an amused chuckle, "Oh he won't be for much longer, if he is. We're surrounded by water, ice, and general cold. Really now Hardrock, how can you expect him to be all right?"

"Shut your trap!" Rowen bellowed at her, letting an arrow fly in her direction. No, he was by no means anywhere near the other two, but he sure was not deaf.

Kali slipped past the arrow with a bored expression on her face, but her attention was diverted long enough for Kento to get in a well aimed hit. She was shoved back several feet, and let out an annoyed hiss.

Ryo had gotten back to his feet and had been fending off Raikken for several minutes, but now he saw what Kento had done, and yelled, "Heads up guys!"

The four immediately knew what that meant, and if they were in the line of fire they were quick to move out of the way.

The Ronin Leader brought his swords together, and leapt up, calling out, "Flare Up Now!"

The energy released by the swords of Wildfire was enough to incinerate the surrounding Raikken, and it struck Kali head on. The ice demonness let out a scream, and steam abruptly rose into the air blocking the warriors' vision.

Ryo dismantled the single blade, so that it was again two. His shoulders quaked as he tried to gain back some of the breath he had lost. He had not used his attack often down here, none of them had.

It was risky with the low ceilings and the fact that after having been down here for so long, the drain on their energy was a great deal.

"Did he get her?" Sage was at wait, the Raikken having pulled back as if waiting to see if Kali was still alive. He had managed to move closer to the archer with all his fighting, a bit of irony that was not lost on the two of them.

The Ronin of Strata shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't see anything past the mist, and the dirt that had been stirred up when the flare had hit the cavern wall behind it.

Ryo's breather went back to normal, and he let out a sigh, perhaps in relief. Then, his eyes widened in shock as chuckling reached his ears, and the dust settled and the steam moved off.

Kali let out a laugh, "Oh wow that _hurt_."

"No way!" Kento exclaimed in disbelief, "He did _not_ miss. She ought to be toast."

The Raikken stopped their staring and went back to attacking, Cye was ready for them and quickly moved through the ones in front of him, before going after the ones off to his right. "She isn't though," he remarked.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Rowen admitted, "She said it herself, there's water and ice down here."

"Ya, Wildfire's at a disadvantage," Sage commented. "She's got the advantage, plus this is home turf. But still there should be a scratch on her, and there isn't."

* * *

Kento had not strayed far from Ryo, but he was having trouble getting back to where he had been. This both annoyed and concerned him, "They're pushing us further apart. We keep trying to regroup and they're not allowing that!"

"We're running out of options you guys," Ryo said to them in an even tone of voice. "I think it's time we stopped playing."

"No Ryo! You can't be serious," the Ronin of Trust immediately knew what his leader was referring to. "Putting aside the fact it's what they need, there's no telling what that armor will do to you as it is now."

"Cye's right," the archer said. "It's a last resort, only."

"How many resorts do we have left Rowen?" the Ronin Leader demanded. "We're running out of options, time, and our energy is just going to keep fading the longer we fight like this without a break."

The bearer of Hardrock was annoyed, it leaked through into his voice, "Look Ryo, you conned us into killing you once. Luckily, the Jewel of Life saved you. But do _not _try and get us to do it again, 'cause its not happenin'."

The Wildfire Ronin's temper was starting to grow short now, and as Kali went after Sage looking to have the upper hand against him as well…It shortened further. They were getting slaughtered; his friends were going to die if he didn't do _something_.

Ryo knew this as being truth, it wasn't opinion he had been having the same nightmare for over a week now. His nightmares had never been wrong, if anything they had become more accurate over time.

And with his memories perfectly intact? He knew how to use his latent foresight ability, understood that his nightmares were projections of the future. One he could change if he invested enough will power into doing it.

He had seen it, seen them fall one by one at Kali's hand. Ryo was not going to let that happen, he would die first. But in order to avoid the end that was coming, he had to convince them they needed to call the white armor. In what he had seen, they had refused to call it even he had agreed with them…That had gotten them all killed.

"All I am saying is we have to use it," Ryo absolutely refused to give up on this. "We accepted the fact it might come down to this. But the longer we do this fight without it, when it becomes apparent we have no other choice, it'll take you energy to, not just your armors power."

"Ryo," Sage got knocked back into the wall by Kali, but managed to bring his sword up to block in time, and then shove her back, "Is that what your nightmares were about?"

Wildfire's bearer shook his head, slicing through a Raikken, "Not quite, but I know what'll happen if we don't use it. If we continue to do nothing, we are all going to die regardless of what might happen if we call Inferno."

"You know," Kali slipped away from Sage, turning her sights on Kento who was ready for her to strike. "Must annoy you that you can't do this mentally, and have to relay your plan in front of me."

"Shove it," the Ronin of Hardrock knocked her off her feet once more, and then slammed her in the ribs with his staff. He let out a yell when she got up, and formed energy into her palm blasting it at him. It connected and he ended up flying into the cavern wall.

"Kento!" Rowen and Cye hollered.

Sage froze in place for a moment, before he sliced at the Raikken. They were all apprehensive about using the white armor. Inferno could easily destroy the world and would most likely gladly do it if given the chance.

It had never had a guiding virtue and that had always made it dangerous. With the armors being free from whatever influence Talpa had on them, it had to mean the Inferno was closer to its true nature as well.

'_Think,' _the swordsman berated himself. _'If we use the armor there's no telling what it will do. But, if we continue on this path the only ending there will be is death for all of us.' _

Using the white armor was risky, oh he was sure it would drain them, leave them helpless. It's not what they were concerned about, why they all kept fighting against this so hard. Ryo might have looked all right, but they all knew he was still recovering from what had happened to him months ago.

They were afraid that if he used the armor the strain would kill him, and yet…What other choices did they have left?

Sage closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them his mind now made up, "My power's yours Ryo, take it."

"Sage!" the Strata Ronin cried in disbelief.

The blond swordsman vigorously shook his head; no he would not listen to the protest, "This is foolish, and unwise. But, it's even more so to let it end here without even trying."

"As always, I have faith in you," Sage told his leader with a small grin. "And in your spirit. You believe you can control it?"

The bearer of Wildfire gave a solemn nod, offering his friend a look of gratitude.

"Good enough for me," Halo's bearer stopped fighting altogether, and relinquished his armor's power.

Strata, Torrent, and Hardrock glowed in response to this. They patiently awaited their bearers' decisions on the matter.

Cye made a noise in the back of his throat, "Do not get yourself killed, _understand_?" He did not wait for Ryo to acknowledge the statement, merely let go of the power which he had been holding back.

"Ditto to what he said," Kento commented, before allowing Hardrock's power to leave him.

Rowen gave a sigh, "Good luck Ryo!" He too released his armor's energy.

As the energy reached him, flames quickly sprang up…The Armor of Wildfire faded and he was left in subarmor, which immediately went black. The flames suddenly engulfed his form, and then died down immediately after.

The Inferno had not changed in the slightest; the only difference was that the coloring of it looked darker. It was more silver than white, the red now crimson and the gold was more pronounced.

Ryo's eyes opened and narrowed onto Kali's form. The demonness looked fearful, but it was gone within the next moment.

The Raikken on the other hand, had absolutely no problem in showing they were scared. All of the remaining demons quickly vanished, they _knew _that armor and were not going to stay around and find out how much better Wildfire was at using it.

* * *

White Blaze had long ago joined Elayne and Black Blaze up on their little ledge…The Raikken had grown in number far too much, and when the Ronin started tossing around surekills the white cat had no desire to be in the way.

He kept watching Elayne out of the corner of his eyes, noticing that she had gone pale, and her breathing was erratic at some instances and fine at others. The tiger was aware that it was bothering her to be this close; it was also getting to him too.

Well, the fact he was there and that he could do relatively little was what was bothering him so much. The fact that the warriors should have never even bothered to come also had worked it's way to the forefront of his mind.

Suddenly he felt the change and he let out a low growl, and Elayne's breathing hitched. Instantly the white armor and swords formed on the black tiger and he leapt up. Then jumped off the ledge, and darted down the tunnel quickly heading for the Ronin.

"What the-?" Sekhmet demanded, as the cat had almost landed right on top of them.

Elayne's voice rang out from above the Seasonals, "That was Black Blaze. The Ronin are calling Inferno!" She and White Blaze jumped down from the ledge as well, making sure they didn't land on anyone.

"When did you get here?" Cale blinked actually surprised at seeing the two of them.

"A bit ago," the girl answered, nervously glancing the way the black tiger had gone.

"An, are you mad?" Sekhmet inquired, before starting, "You were told…"

"Nope," She cut the Fall Seasonal off, "White Blaze was told not to leave me alone, and to follow me wherever I went. So, I decided to come here. Nobody ever told me not to come; Ryo mentioned nothing of the sort."

"One day, Wildfire really is going to hurt you," Anubis shook his head, biting back a laugh. He offered her a small smile though, she could be something this one.

Cale gave a snort then chuckle, "Dais, give him the dictionary when we get back, he needs to look up the word 'foreplay.'"

Elayne caught that and glared daggers at the Seasonal of Winter, "Just you wait till we get back. You are so toast!"

"I already know what it means," Anubis coughed, slightly, to the looks of amazement he was getting, "Cale, you need to get a hobby."

_'He needs to get a life first,'_ White Blaze dryly commented.

* * *

"Harass her for details on being down here later boys," Kayura told them, "We can't dawdle. I-"

Elayne immediately snapped her head to where she knew the five Ronin were at, and Kayura also looked in that direction. It was done; the Ronin had successfully summoned the white armor.

"Blast it," Dais grumbled in irritation, "The power coming off of that thing is unbelievable."

"I sense the Raikken have left," Anubis commented with a scowl.

Kayura shook herself, "Like I said, let's move. Those demons won't be gone for very long and there's no telling how bad off the other four were before this."

The Seasonals gave nods in agreement, quickly following after the Ancient's descendant. Elayne had been quick to fall alongside Kayura, the white tiger having moved so that he was running slightly behind them.

"If you want to know," the girl commented. "They were worse than just "bad off." By a lot."

The Lady Ancient frowned at hearing this, "You were with them earlier? And their energy levels were that bad?"

The girl gave a nod to both those questions, so Kayura was quick to ask one more, "Can you sense them now?"

Elayne was quick to nod, and then she immediately shook her head as she anticipated the next question coming from the woman.

Kayura's eyes widened as they had come around the bend and the cavern was in plain sight, "Oh no."

The girl had accurately predicted the Lady Ancient's next question, as well as the answer that went with it.

..........

No, the Ronin Warriors were not all right.


	21. Chapter 20

_A/N: I apologize for the late update, so you get two chapters this month instead of the one I was planning on. Please, if you see that I haven't updated by the end of the month shoot me a private message or just leave a review asking if I'm going to update. I know a lot of authors out there dislike those kind of messages, but most of the time their stories are unfinished. Book 2 is complete, and I tend to forget to update it here because of that. Anyway enjoy your two chapter update._

_LG_

**

* * *

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**Chapter Twenty:**

* * *

The Ronin Leader was faced with a potential question, that he was not quite sure how to answer. Did he risk calling and using the Wildfire swords, knowing that the strain could break them? Or, did he channel the energy of the Inferno through himself, even though he was certain doing that would kill him?

The roar that came from behind Ryo startled Kali as much as it surprised him. The Ronin turned his head just enough so that he could see the coal black tiger standing there with the swords looking at him.

"I'm kinda surprised you're here," he admitted, knowing immediately that the tiger was separate from White Blaze...Had been since the White and Black armor fought each other.

_ 'You might not be my master, Rekka, but I would not abandon you,'_ Black Blaze rumbled out, he figured the human couldn't understand him but he made the statement anyway.

"The fact she'd have your hide, has absolutely_ nothing _to do with it right?" Ryo joked as he took the swords into his hands.

_'Oh, so you have your memories. That's amusing,'_ the tiger chuckled out, before letting out a roar at Kali. He tried not to smirk at her little twitch of fear, good she ought to be afraid especially after fighting the girl like she had. The tiger bowed his head to Wildfire's bearer and then dropped back.

Ryo now turned his attention back to the ice demonness, querying, "What? Are you going to stand there and gape all day?"

"I thought I'd be a sport and let you have the first shot," Kali commented with a light sneer, "But since you're complaining, I've changed my mind!"

She lunged at him, and the Ronin Leader brought up the one Soul Sword to block her blow, before using the other to cut into her arm. Immediately she let out a hiss, and then growled in irritation.

Great, the large advantage she had over him before was practically gone now...Somehow this armor had managed to give him strength anew, and a lot of it.

Of course, that meant if she fought him long enough he would burn out quicker, and, hopefully, their plan would work. All she needed to do was get him angry enough and worn out enough to call Inferno's power, and shoot it at her. She could slip out of the way, and then the Wildfire Ronin would loose his strength.

Akemliek would be free once more, and then he could deal with these annoying pests, because really? She was kind of tired of dealing with them at this point; they had long ago stopped amusing her.

"This the best you got Kali?" Ryo asked of her, before slamming her into the cavern wall.

She let out a grunt, and then slipped out of the box he had placed her in, kicking him in the gut with her foot. The demonness backed up from him, saying haughtily, "You're a fool to think this will be easy. And naïve as to how your friends currently are."

Ryo's heart sank at her confirmation of what he had feared that his worry had become a reality. He took a quick glance around and the blood in his veins went cold, Inferno had taken all their strength not just that of their armor power.

They had fallen into unconsciousness, and were now vulnerable to whatever the enemy decided to throw in their direction. The Raikken were gone, but they wouldn't be for long, he knew that. He just didn't know what to do, because at this moment he couldn't call forth Inferno's power. It was fighting against him too badly, if he used that power and missed Kali, there was no telling what the armor would do.

_ 'Do not worry about them,'_ Black Blaze rumbled loudly, _'Kayura-tachi are no more than a few seconds away. Leave the other Ronin for the Seasonals to fret over; you concern yourself with getting rid of her.'_

The Ronin Leader gave a nod, though anger was very much present in his face as he turned all of his attention towards Kali. Ryo would have rather the energy drain on his friends had never taken place, but he couldn't change that now.

With a resigned sigh, he went after the ice demonness, soon becoming completely lost in the fight that was upon him and tuning the world around him out.

* * *

Kayura let out a slight gasp instead of a breath, bewilderment clearly shown in her face, "What on Earth happened?"

The four Ronin had fallen where they had earlier stood the loss of that much energy, and at such a rapid pace, had forced their bodies to shut down. They looked dead, but the only reason the Lady Ancient knew this wasn't fact was because she could sense their energy...Though it was barely there.

"We shall have to debate that later," Anubis looked to his comrades saying, "We need to hurry and get to them, before the Raikken return."

Dais gave a nod in agreement already starting to move, "I'll go for Hardrock."

"He's furthest away, I'll come with you," the Spring Seasonal told him, quickly following.

"The black tiger is guarding Halo," Cale remarked in amusement, adding, "I'll go join him."

"I guess that leaves me with Torrent, joy," the green-haired Fall Seasonal rolled his eyes and Elayne bit down a laugh.

"All right, White Blaze go with Sekhmet," Kayura said to the tiger, "That way we have two to a Ronin. Elayne, you're with me."

"Yes ma'am," the girl quipped offering the cat a shrug of her shoulders to his unasked question. She didn't know why Kayura always got bossy during battles, either. But if anyone could keep people in line when they stepped out, it was the Lady Ancient. White Blaze merely shook his head and bounded after the Fall Seasonal.

Kayura glanced back over her shoulder once to make sure the girl was still there, before they reached the Ronin of Strata. The woman kneeled down, querying, "Rowen?"

She placed a hand to his cheek, and her eyes widened, "He's like ice! Inferno must have drained them of all their energy." The Lady Ancient bit her lip, before closing her eyes, she tried to use a healing spell Kaosu had taught her...But it did nothing.

The bewilderment in Kayura's face now shone through all too clearly her eyes full of shock. What was she supposed to do? They were not injured in a way she knew how to deal with and could help them out of.

"Kay, they're coming back," Elayne said in warning taking up a fighting stance, her eyes nervously scanning around the cavern. She landed on where Ryo and Kali were fighting, and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. Wow, she would not want to be fighting against Wildfire's bearer right now, he was _peeved. _The girl relaxed a little, seeing that the Seasonals had reached the Ronin.

Kayura quickly leapt up to her feet, drawing her jitte and twirling them, before stabbing at the first Raikken dumb enough to show itself. A minute later the cavern was full of them, and the fighting began anew.

"I don't know what to do," Kayura told the girl, a bit of helplessness leaking into her tone. "They're drained, and I don't know how to fix that because we aren't going to have time for them to recover that much energy naturally."

Elayne gave a nod in acknowledgement to that, immediately understanding the Lady Ancient's frustration. Since the two were good friends, much to the Ronin's chagrin, whenever Kayura had a problem they tended to talk about it. Especially, problems like this.

The girl was aware of what really infuriated the young woman, that while she was older she had practically no knowledge of things she needed to know and comprehend. Kayura had spent most of her life brainwashed by Talpa, once free from that influence she had still had the nightmares and memories of her past to contend with.

All the while trying to follow the will of her clan that she knew relatively nothing about, and with the added stress of not knowing how to use the powers and strengths she was born with. Kayura might have been in contact with the Ancient, but it had not been for very long, and while Anubis had been back for a while...Well, to be honest neither man was very helpful.

Elayne hesitated a moment, before saying, "I _might_ be able to do something. I just don't know if it'll work."

"What did you have in mind?" Kayura queried dropping back a moment to listen to the girl as she spoke.

"Mm," Elayne ducked a strike, and kicked the Raikken's legs out. Kayura followed up by slicing it. "Once, a while ago, Nova-tachi got smashed around pretty bad. It was to the point where Glacia was the only one still standing, the other girls were out cold having exhausted their power."

The girl paused a moment, before continuing, "I had read weeks earlier on how to transfer energy from one person to another. So, with barely any options left I took a chance, and it worked. I just don't know if it'll have any effect on them or not."

"Why? Don't the Elementals have remnants of the armors powers?" the Lady Ancient queried.

Elayne gave a nod, "Ya, but even without taking extra power into consideration, the guys are a lot stronger than they are. I can try, and we can hope it works on them too."

"Go ahead, I'll handle these things," Kayura said to her.

The girl gave a nod, and moved back to Rowen's side, quickly kneeling down next to his form, and gently removing the helmet. Blinking in surprised when it vanished seconds later...Okay, that was bizarre.

She was taking a risk here, and a big one. It was not the danger to herself that bothered her, but the danger to the Ronin if this did not work. It had to work, if it didn't...She was not going to think like that, and she shoved the thought from her mind before it could start to unravel.

Elayne took the dagger back out from her boot, it was actually a yoroidoshi, a form of the tanto made for the purpose of piercing through armor. Not long after the Raikken had started coming after her, she had purchased it and it had been with her ever since. The blade came in exceedingly handy.

She took the knife, and pricked the tip of her finger with it, before wiping the miniscule amount of blood onto her pant leg and then returned the blade to it's sheath that she kept in her boot.

The girl calmly traced the Ronin of Strata's kanji with her bloodied finger, biting her lip in part concentration and part thought. No, the symbol was not visible, but she knew it quite well.

Elayne let out a loose breath, before pulling her hand back, and then clasping it together with her other. She then tightly shut her eyes, pulling at what energy she could and praying this worked the way she needed it to.

Kayura cast a brief glance over her shoulder, a little surprised to see the kanji symbol on Strata's forehead flickering in, and out. She could not reflect on this long though, there were just way too many Raikken for that.

Elayne's eyes snapped open just as Rowen's kanji flared up, and remained for a moment before fading back out. The blood she had placed over it, now gone. She let out a relieved sigh, the energy transfer had worked. Now it was just a matter of getting Rowen to wake up, something she knew was easier said then done.

"To?" the girl queried, shaking his shoulder a little. "Touma-kun?" She paused a moment, then let out an irritated groan, "Bah! You have me so worried I'm calling you by the name you hate."

That ploy didn't work either and finally she gave a roll of her eyes...So much for trying to be nice about this, oh well she _had _tried. Elayne finally bellowed, "**_OI_** **_Rowen_**!"

This attempt worked quite well, his body jerked slightly and his eyes opened, before he quickly shut them. The blue-haired archer let out a low moan, his entire body hurt and he had a migraine.

Strata's bearer shifted slightly, and opened his eyes once more, this time he left them open, "Elayne?"

The girl let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, "It did work." She grinned, "Score another one for me. Nice of ya to wake up Ro."

He frowned at her, not quite sure what was going on, and then a thought struck him, "Ryo!"

"Easy," Elayne prevented him from leaping up, but just barely. "You'll hurt yourself if you move like that. I restored energy to you, but I don't know how much so don't try and move that fast. He's fine, holding his own against Kali and Inferno itself."

"What happened?" Rowen queried sounding completely lost. His mind was still disorientated after having such a thing happen to it, and he was only slowly starting to pick up on what was going on around him. He noticed Kayura was fighting the Raikken...Suddenly he went pale, sensing the others current states, "He was right, it drained us so badly because we waited too long."

"Do you always answer your own questions?" the girl teased she had gotten up, and offered him a hand, which he gladly took.

The archer was relieved to find he hadn't stiffened up, though his armor felt a little heavier than normal, "Not all the time."

"Ro?" the Lady Ancient queried having seen out of the corner of her eye that he was awake, "You okay?"

"I'm good for now, Kay," the archer answered with a small smile.

Elayne's eyebrows sharply went up, and she tilted her head at the two of them, "Since when did you start calling each other by nicknames? Wait, since when did you start _talking_ to each other?"

"Heh this little venture was good for something," Rowen offered up, calling up his bow, and reaching for an arrow, quickly grasping one.

Kayura gave a nod to this, saying, "We had a conversation over a few things."

"Wow, I'm impressed you guys," Elayne said, and added with a mischievous grin, "Before you know it, there'll be wedding bells."

"Elayne!" Rowen's ears went slightly pink due to his embarrassment, and Kayura quickly turned her head, her cheeks having a rose tinge to them.

The girl permitted herself a snigger, before becoming silent and looking around the cavern again. She could feel that the Senshi were approaching, but they were still a way off. And Ryo? He was still fighting with Kali, holding back because he didn't want to use the Inferno's power until he knew he could control it.

"Any ideas about what we're supposed to do for the other guys?" Rowen queried, as he let several arrows fly destroying a handful of Raikken. "'Cause I take it you aren't sure if you can get a repeat performance." This he directed at Elayne, who got slightly annoyed.

"I can! I just can't get three repeats; I don't have that kind of energy to splice," the girl said with a frown. "I can't tap in the crystal for it, because it hasn't worked since I got down here. I think the only thing you could use if for would be teleporting if you knew how to do it." Well, that wasn't exactly the whole truth, but most of it...The rest they didn't need to know, not at this point in time.

"Hm," the archer was thoughtful for a moment, and he pondered it over in his head, before remarking aloud, "What about using a healing ability to boost it?"

"I'd do that, but there's not enough light down here for me to try it with Nii-chan's armor," Elayne said with a shake of her head, but then she asked, "Hey! Didn't you tell me that during the stint in Africa, when you got tore up and the split between the armors and virtues made you ill that Cye healed you?"

"Ya," the Ronin of Strata gave a nod, "All four of us. Do you think you could boost his ability instead? Kali kept blabbing on about how there was water all around this place; his armor's at a better advantage."

"I can try, I just don't know if Torrent'll take the suggestion. All I can do is press it upon the armor, doesn't mean it'll do it," the girl answered.

"I'd say go for it," Kayura brought in to their conversation. "Except how are you going to get to him?"

"Oh," the girl took her prize blade back out, and flashed them both a grin, before rushing through the horde of Raikken, "Like this."

"Are you crazy?" Rowen called after her, quickly moving in to help Kayura who was starting to get overrun.

The Lady Ancient was amused by this, and teased, "Who's saving whom here?"

"Let's leave it at, we're helping one another out of a sticky situation," the Strata Ronin chuckled.

"That works," Kayura said.

* * *

"Hi guys," Elayne greeted, as she slipped behind Sekhmet having managed to get there within a few minutes without getting killed. Really, she considered that one a miracle. Of course, the warriors would probably wring her neck later, but she had more important things to worry about now. "Miss me?"

"Always," Sekhmet chuckled at her comment, querying with a grin, "And to what do we owe the honor of your presence?"

"I managed to get Rowen's energy level back up enough that he's awake. I'm hoping that through Torrent, I can help Cye, Gege and Nii-chan. I don't have the capacity to do it separately three more times."

_'Ah, I think I know what you are talking about,'_ White Blaze rumbled to her, _'It should work.'_

"Let's hope so," Elayne murmured, looking to the Fall Seasonal, "Think you can keep them off of one more person?"

The green-haired man gave a nod, "Yep, quite easily. This is child's play!"

"You're a goof Sekky," the girl shook her head in amusement, before walking over to Cye, and kneeling down next to him. Her yoroidoshi was still out, and she laid the weapon in her lap before removing the Ronin's helmet and laying it aside.

It too vanished, and she let out a sigh that time it had startled her slightly...Talk about your quirky mystical gear.

Elayne put a hand on her dagger, and then pricked the same finger, but a little deeper this time. Again, she wiped the blade off, before putting it away and then traced the symbol she knew was there.

She steeled herself, waited to see if the Torrent armor would recognize what she was trying to do and accept the chance to do it. It wasn't an acknowledgement, just a feeling that she knew it understood what she was trying to accomplish.

The girl broke her concentration just as she felt the three Ronin's normal energy levels come back up. By the time she caught her breath, and finally opened her eyes, Cye was already getting to his feet.

The Ronin of Trust offered her a kind smile, and a hand back up, which she took without giving a protest.

"Thanks Elayne," he told her, sea-green eyes searching Sage and Kento out and finding they were all right now as well. "Did a good job."

Elayne gave a wry grin, "No problem. Now, think you guys can avoid a near-death experience for the next half-hour?"

Cye rolled his eyes at this, but did not bother to make a return comment. He happened to know better than to do something as foolish as that. Torrent's bearer took pause though, and quickly searched for his leader, having felt a rather quick shift in energy. The battle between the two was about to come to an end.

* * *

The Ronin Leader let out a sigh of relied when he felt the other four were back to a slightly normal state. He had not permitted his attention to be diverted anywhere during all that time, yet he could easily tell they were okay.

He gave a chuckle, "So much for your great plan, Kali. They're awake, the Seasonals are here, and the Senshi are closer than they were."

"Naïve of you Wildfire, very naïve," the ice demonness tsked him. "Do you really think you can win at this point? You are all going to die, and you can trust me on that."

Ryo sucked in a breath, having forced himself to exert enough control of the Armor of Inferno that he was now comfortable enough to use it's power. He still had to be careful though, one miscalculation and he could bring the cavern down too.

"You first Kali," he said in a cold voice, the anger within him suddenly boiling over. His eyes narrowed into thin slits as he called for what had been lying just out of his reach, what the armor had been begging him to call. And Ryo turned it all loose on her, "Rage of Inferno!"

The large wave of flame came out through the swords the minute he called for it, fueled by his strong emotions that of his irritation and anger. There was no room for Kali to escape it, and no way she could survive the intensity of that kind of power.

Her screams of agony and horror echoed around the walls before stopping, and the ice demonness herself was reduced to nothing more than ask, like that of a Raikken.

The force of his attack knocked down the wall, revealing another tunnel, as well as an odd-shaped crystal just sitting there, out of place.

Ryo's eyes widened in shock as he instantly recognized what that way, he tried to break the swords off from the attack, but found that he was unable to move.

The Ronin Leader vainly struggled against this, however it was too late to stop what was now occurring and the Inferno armor was slowly drained of it's power.

"Ry!" Rowen yelled out at him, having seen what had happened. His stomach gave an uneasy lurch, as the scene was vaguely reminiscent of something that had happened long ago.

Kayura looked ill as well, recalling the same incident as Rowen was...She quickly pushed the thoughts from her head by giving it a vigorous shake. They needed to get to him, and quickly. The minute she tried to get past the Raikken, more showed up to block her path.

"Oh no," Sage murmured, leaping over top of Cale and coming down hard on the Raikken behind the one the Winter Seasonal was fighting.

The Halo Ronin's violet eyes were narrowed, and he began to increase the rate at which he was fighting. Somehow, the rest of his strength was starting to come back, and he was taking full advantage of that.

Cale took notice, "Careful Sage, it might be returning, but you shouldn't push."

"We need to get to Ryo, Cale," the swordsman said lips pressed into a thin line. "That thing is draining him, if the Raikken go after him once he's out of that trap, he's as good as dead."

The fact was something Cye was trying to get into Sekhmet's thick skull at the same exact moment. But his logic seemed to be completely wasted on the Seasonal of Fall.

"Look Torrent," Sekhmet was so annoyed with the young man by this point he was using the armor title, "I get it, but the fact of the matter is we have to get through these first. If you have a suggestion on how to get around them, spit it out."

The Ronin of Torrent glared at his once rival, saying, "Stop fighting with them, and move it."

"Brilliant," the Seasonal snorted out, pointing one sword to where Kayura and Rowen were, "They tried that, it didn't work."

"Any ideas spider-eye?" Kento queried, he was starting to realize how hopeless this all seemed. Especially when, with every Raikken they got rid of three more seemed to pop up.

Dais shook his white head, "My illusions don't work on these things, they're too dumb to get they're being tricked."

"One would think that'd be an advantage," the Spring Seasonal remarked.

The Summer Seasonal again shook his head, "No, not when something is _this_ dumb. We're just going to have to trust that Wildfire can hold his own and that the drain won't be too bad."

The Hardrock Ronin let out an irritated sigh, there had to be something...He paused noticing the light produced by the armor's attack was starting to die down.

"Oh man..."

Ryo staggered back a step or two, fighting to keep himself upright and conscious...He lost his hold on the swords and they clattered to the ground. The Ronin Leader sank to one knee, his normal method of blocking out pain and fatigue was no longer working. His body had fully realized what had happened to it, and there was nothing he could do.

The white armor quickly faded, leaving him once more in Wildfire, but that too left him leaving him in no more than his subarmor. That last line of defense also failed, and he was back in his street clothes.

He was on his hands and knees, trying to force himself back up...Ryo had detected the presence of the energy not far from him, knew it was Thanos. But, the last of his strength finally evaporated and he collapsed.

Ryo heard the sound of a blade being drawn, but he could not even get his body to stir...It was worn out as much as he was mentally exhausted, and knowing this the young man accepted the fate that now awaited him.

The others were alive, and that was all that really mattered. They didn't need him to defeat Akemliek a truth which he had long ago accepted. Knowing his part in all of this was over, the Ronin of Wildfire waited for the blow to come.

...Only...It never came.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

* * *

Glacia slid to a stop just at the opening of the cavern; she watched with wide eyes as the Ronin of Wildfire used the white armor and took out Kali. Then in shock as the armor started to get drained, "Oh boy that was the energy I felt?"

"Gawk over it later," Aarde told her. "We need to help them."

"If we can, I think we might be too late," the minute the words left Nova's mouth, was when Ryo started to fall to his knees.

Empyrean let out a low growl, "Thanos is here!"

She dashed forward then, acting on sole impulse, she called out her attack aimed it right for the Raikken in the way. The hit took out a score of them...The other Elementals followed her example, and then everyone in the cavern froze.

They had felt Thanos appear, and all eyes were on where the Ronin Leader had fallen.

"Ryo!" Kayura cried out. She was too far away, there was no way she could cover that type of ground in time, no way any of them could.

A distinct scowl was on Thanos' face, at long last the energy required had been gathered...But at a cost to them. The Raikken, while easily replaceable, had a large dent put into their numbers, and his sister had been lost.

Scowling was the only form of anger the ice demon bothered to show, as he withdrew his sword. There might be no honor in killing an already beaten opponent, when said opponent had been beaten at another's hand, but in this case he was willing to make an exception.

"You made a grave error in judgment in coming here," Thanos said to the Ronin though he was sure the man was unconscious at this point. Just as he brought his sword down to deliver the final blow, a loud chorus of 'no' rang out and the ice demon found himself shoved to the side.

The ice demon lost his balance, but kept a hold on his sword's hilt, using his free hand to roll back to his feet. His steel gray eyes narrowed, the green flecks within them burning, "Gutsy or foolish. Either way you can't stall me, cats."

Black Blaze was the one that had shoved him away from Ryo, and now his ears lay flat against his head, teeth bared in warning. White Blaze had taken up position directly in front of Wildfire's bearer and was offering the same display of claw and fang.

The tigers were trying to display the fact they were not to be messed with, and as Thanos picked himself up off the floor, Black Blaze lunged his claws poised as he swiped, leaving a gash in the armor Thanos wore.

It was slowly becoming apparent that he was intimidated by the creatures for he had yet to strike back. Either it was that, or he was simply weighing his options about whether or not he had to take them out.

White Blaze looked to Kouken-Oh, who gave a nod, yes he could sense it too...The scent of fear, even though it was minute, was there. Each tiger now took a single step towards the demon, and let out a roar.

They dug their claws into the earth, and curled back their lips to further show off their teeth.

Elayne, since she was nowhere near as interesting a target for the Raikken, had like the tigers managed to slip past them largely unnoticed. She had her tanto in her hand, her eyes slightly narrowed as she took up next to the white tiger.

The girl cleared her throat and translated, "The black tiger said that if you valued your existence, you'd leave while you had a chance. White Blaze's comment is you have about two minutes before your kitty chow." She paused a moment, "If you want a suggestion, I'd take their advice because whatever they don't do to you the others will."

Thanos glared at the girl, he had a few reasons for being irritated with her as well. The fact she had managed to evade capture, and then had the guts to come down here and find the other warriors, aggravated him to almost no end.

He was not going to let this slide, he could easily take on the tired fools...At this point he no longer cared much about the honor aspect of things. But, just as he was prepared to see what the tigers' were capable of, a low chuckle reached his ears and he stopped.

_'It's all right Thanos, withdraw for now,'_ Akemliek murmured. _'I am aware of our loss, and right now I need you to help the Raikken recite the incantation to reverse this seal.'_

_ 'As you wish,'_ the ice demon responded, putting his sword away. He made no comment as he vanished in a whirl of ice. Any Raikken that had not been destroyed already, fled the minute Thanos disappeared.

"Wow you two are gusty," Elayne said letting out a sigh in relief as she put her dagger away. The girl affectionately rubbed the white tiger on the head, smiling a little as Black Blaze came up and butted her in the knee. She then glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on.

Sage had taken little time in getting to his fallen leader, gently pulling him so that he was no longer lying face down. The swordsman was only slightly comforted to see that Ryo was breathing. What made him so wary was the fact each breath was coming in as a short uneven gasp.

Kayura and Rowen were the next one's on the scene. A frown framed the Lady Ancient's face, as she racked her brain for a possible technique that might help the downed Ronin. Nothing was coming to mind, and that was enough to cause her frown to become deeper.

The other Ronin, Elemental and Seasonal now stood nervously around, forming an oval shape. Each man looked to the other, and then to the unconscious Ronin, none were sure what to do.

"I can't heal him," the Halo Ronin remarked as he broke his concentration, and gritted his teeth together in irritation at being able to do nothing to help his leader.

Cye looked to the Spring Seasonal and Lady Ancient, "Any ideas?"

* * *

The Scouts had filtered into the cavern, but were forced to tend to their own...As they had sustained injuries from that last round of fighting. The Senshi of Mercury was currently cleaning off a wound Jupiter had sustained on her arm.

The taller Senshi gave a wince as Mercury picked out a piece of shale, "No wonder that hurt."

"We're lucky no one has any broken bones," Saturn muttered glancing around the cavern.

Mars gave a snort, saying, "I think we're lucky to be alive still."

"Heh, she's got a point," Galaxy mumbled, rubbing at her right arm showing that she was slightly nervous.

Sailor Moon wrinkled her nose, "What I want to know is how come the Elementals were tossing around attacks like that."

"We managed to avoid most of the action," Nova brought in having heard the comment. "So we have energy to spare."

"Ya at least we have something," Empyrean said with a snort and a roll of her eyes.

* * *

White Blaze huffed in annoyance as he couldn't get to Ryo without pushing through the others. He gave a roll of his eyes to Black Blaze, who merely chuckled at his rival's exasperation.

The white tiger tilted his head in the direction of the Senshi, and then gave a vigorous shake of his head. Were they all going to laze around here for the next hour or something?

"Cavern won't last that long boy," Elayne had caught the thought.

_ 'How do you know?'_ Black Blaze queried, tilting his head at her

The girl pointed to where Aarde was standing, there was a prominent scowl etched into the young woman's features her brows creased in both thought and annoyance, "I know that look, I've seen it before. We're in danger of it collapsing."

"You would pick up on that," the Earth Senshi remarked, before saying louder, "We can't stay here, the fighting has weakened the cavern. The ceiling's barely hanging on by a thread."

Uranus frowned, "But can they move Wildfire like he is without harming him further?"

"Hard to say," Anubis turned his attention to the Senshi of Earth, "Would it be safer if we moved to the next cavern?"

Aarde shook her head, "No, with as weak as the ceiling is it'll come down over there too. We need to be at least fifty feet away, if not more than that."

"How are we supposed to pull that off?" Venus blinked in confusion.

The Ronin of Halo's eyes widened slightly in panic, he had gotten out of his armor and subarmor in order to be able to monitor Ryo's pulse...He rechecked it just to make sure, only to find that he wasn't imagining it.

"What's wrong?" Cale inquired, able to see the fear present in his rival's eyes.

Sage blinked, and responded slowly, "I think...His pulse is weakening. It's not a steady rhythm anymore."

The two tigers and Elayne exchanged worried glances, before the girl gave a sigh and walked over to where the Ronin were. She knelt beside the swordsman, checking the pulse herself. He was right, it was declining.

"It's the shock from having to use Inferno, and then getting completely drained," Kayura muttered in distaste, "And I know of nothing that could help."

Elayne frowned, "Think the Jewel of Life might?"

Anubis blinked a moment and then let out a nervous chuckle, "I forgot you had the Jewel."

"Not my fault, the thing is temperamental and decided to hitch a ride with it's sister stone," the girl grumbled out, crossing her finger in front of the black jewel...Really, it hadn't been her fault or Yuli's for that matter. He had simply shown her the stone, and then it had vanished not that much later.

Now the Cimmerian Crystal gave a chime and the Jewel of Life dropped into Kayura's palm, the Ancient's descendant blinked in surprise.

"Wow, that was easy," Elayne commented she hadn't expected it to be that simple either.

The Lady Ancient was quick to clasp the jewel around Ryo's neck, and she waited with baited breath to see if it'd work. The stone gave a single chime, and the surrounding kanji flared in response, including Ryo's.

"His pulse is back to normal," the blond swordsman let out a sigh after checking it...Noting that Ryo's breathing had also steadied.

Kento blinked in surprise, "Exactly how long have you had the Jewel of Life, mei mei?"

"Oh, ages," the girl responded getting to her feet now. "Yuli had shown it to me, and then the next day it was gone. But, I had noticed the black crystal had suddenly gained red embers. So I had always suspected it, and then Kayura confirmed it."

"Ah, any ideas on how we're supposed to get out of here before that collapses?" Rowen queried, now that one crisis had been averted, he'd like to avoid another.

Aarde let out a gasp, head snapping up to the ceiling just as she felt the earth above them crack, "Oh no..."

Pluto let out a hiss, and moved to make use of her ability to stop time.

_ 'Don't! I barely managed to convince them to let you off the hook last time,' _a voice butted in, _'Leave it to me.'_

One minute they were all in the crumbling cavern, and the next it had faded to that of a completely different tunnel.

* * *

None of them were quite prepared for the sudden change of scenery, nor did any of them appreciate being startled like that.

"What on Earth?" Sailor Mars demanded leaping up from the spot she had been kneeling at.

They all winced as they could clearly hear the sound of the cavern collapse, as well as feel the tremors from where they now happened to be.

"Close call," Kento breathed out, though he was quick to frown, "Now, how'd that happen?"

"Universe," Pluto answered shaking her head a little, "Did anyone expect anything different?"

Sailor Jupiter gave a grin, "Not really."

Rowen took a good look at those around him, saying quietly, "We need to rest, do the rotating shift watch again."

"We get first shift, and no arguments," Glacia said, her tone of voice stating there could be no argument. "Like we mentioned, out of everyone here, we're the most rested, so don't start."

"Yes ma'am," Kento saluted the Scout of Water, and permitted himself to land on the floor with a thud; "I don't have the strength or desire to argue."

This caused everyone to laugh a little, and the remaining Ronin powered down to subarmor. Sage actually bothered to put his back on, not desiring to be without it for a great length down here.

The worst might have been over for the moment, and he and the other three were certainly exhausted, but they were still very much on edge. Sleep was not going to come easy for them, even though they were in desperate need of it.

After all, the ordeal, in their minds, was very far from over.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**

* * *

**

"And I thought it'd take longer for them to fall asleep than that," Nova mused as she sat down. It'd taken no more than fifteen minutes for the others to fall asleep.

White Blaze gave a soft snort to that, curling up next to his cub to offer the young man some warmth, as well as protection if it came to be needed. The black tiger gave a low rumble as the armor he wore vanished, before settling down not too far from the small campfire the Senshi of Air had managed to start.

Elayne gave a light cough to Nova's comment, before sitting around the fire with the older girls. She crossed her arms in front of her; the windbreaker she had been wearing had restricted her movement as much as she thought, so she had gotten rid of it.

It left her in nothing more than a long sleeve t-shirt, and Blaze had been sure to complain about that earlier. She let out a sigh, pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh," Aarde had caught onto the cough, "Did something about that, did you?"

"Not me, per se," the girl admitted in complete honesty, "The crystal. It's able to negate the negative energy for a certain radius. It put them at ease quicker. Plus, they are all wiped out."

"We know," Empyrean murmured, "We've been monitoring their situations, or Glacia has at any rate."

Hearing her name being mentioned, the Water Scout stopped trying to scan and turned her attention to her teammates, "Yeah, it's been hard to move around down here, but pretty easy for me to sense what's going on."

Elayne rubbed at her arm, sighed again and closed her eyes. This was oddly familiar to her, sitting around a campfire with the four Senshi talking things over. Yet, this was far different from what had happened in America…She had never been around the other warriors during such fights and none of them knew what she could do.

"So what brought you here?" Nova queried, she was not irritated, just curious.

The Elemental Leader had learned that Elayne only became involved in such things when she felt she had no other choice. The girl was wise enough to know when her powers could be of use, and when they couldn't and she'd be a liability.

Elayne immediately stiffened at hearing the question, and sighed out, "Do you have to ask?"

Glacia gave her a sympathetic smile, "Ah, I see. It was getting to be too much, huh?"

"Yeah," she mumbled out. "I can't block it, never have been able to. It's just worse this time since I'm so close to where they are fighting. I was having a hard time."

"Sitting there and doing nothing was also irking you, I bet," the Senshi of Air chuckled. "You know, An-chan, you really do act like the Ronin sometimes."

Aarde gave a snort, "She was practically raised by them. What did you expect?"

The girl merely rolled her eyes at the two of them, turning her head to study Glacia who simply chuckled in amusement, and then made a remark.

"I'm going to go see where the exit to this tunnel is."

"Not alone you won't," Nova told her. "That's reckless, Ryo kind of reckless."

"Hold up, Glac, I'm coming," the Senshi of Earth said getting to her feet, and following her best friend.

Empyrean wrinkled her nose a little, "Now what?"

"We wait for the others to recover some of their energy. They'll wake up when they are ready," the Senshi of Light commented. "We can't go anywhere with them as they are now, you know that. And while the enemy has the energy required, they still have to break the seal binding Akemliek. Hopefully, that'll give us enough time to get out of here. We can't take the risk he'll get free and fight with us; we're not in any shape for that."

The Air Scout sighed through her nose, "Don't remind me."

The Leader of the Elemental Senshi simply shook her head, before turning her attention to Elayne, "You should probably get some rest too. We're kinda aware you used that energy spell, and you look ready to crash."

"I'm just too obvious," the girl said with a shrug, getting to her feet and stretching. "I'll follow your order though, no worries." She casually strode over to where the black tiger was laying.

She kneeled down and gave him a poke in the side, grinning when he cracked open one eye to look at her.

_ 'Yes?'_

"Mind if I use you as a pillow?" the girl queried.

Black Blaze let out an amused chuckle, _'Of course not. Make yourself comfortable.'_

The girl gave a thank-you as she sat down and then leaned her head against his side, giving him an affectionate scratch behind the ears. Elayne let out a sigh and closed her eyes; there was no way she was going to sleep, not down here. But, she might be able to pull off a bit of meditating.

The black tiger gave a yawn, and then drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

**Not That Much Later**

Things were blurry at first, objects had no real defining lines at all…And the colors were more or less meshed together. A low groan escaped from his lips, as he shifted his weight, and tried to move his left hand.

His blue eyes slowly started to come into focus, allowing him the chance to see the dark and dank cavern he was currently in. He continued to warily evaluate his surroundings, as he tried to sit up…Only to fall back against the ground with a muffled thud.

White Blaze stirred hearing Ryo move, and he let out a low whine. The Tiger hauled himself to his feet and moved closer, nuzzling the young man's cheek. Worry was etched deep into the tiger's face, as he rumbled, _'How do you feel?'_

"Awful," the Ronin Leader said in a strained voice, wincing slightly as he tried to move. He let out a frustrated sigh, and then smiled when the tiger butted against him.

Ryo scratched underneath the tiger's chin, querying in a voice barely above that of a whisper, "Did I get her? The others, are they all right?"

_ 'Yes to all of those,'_ the cat responded, tilting his head and letting out a low huff.

Black Blaze had only slept for about a half-hour, before waking up to find the remaining two Elementals bickering. He had sighed through his nose, and grumbled about the idiocy of humans.

Seeing that he'd been awake, the blonde had queried if he could keep watch. Knowing that she couldn't understand him word for word, he had simply nodded.

Granted, Empyrean had given him a few more test questions, and when they got to the last one which was utterly ridiculous, he had simply glared at her. Nova had wisely grabbed her best friend and hauled her off down the tunnel.

That had been hours ago, and he had been keeping watch ever since then. For the most part it had been quiet, aside from those in the tunnel that happened to snore…And snore quite loudly.

Now the tiger swiveled his right ear to listen closer, having heard movement, and then he caught the noise coming from his counterpart. Understanding that the Ronin of Wildfire was awake, the black tiger turned his head to the right and nuzzled the girl's cheek.

A hazel-violet eye peered at him curiously, as the girl murmured, "What's the matter?"

_'Rekka is awake,' _Black Blaze answered in a low grunt, swiveling his head back to the tunnel before him to keep watch once more.

Both eyes were now wide open, as the girl slowly got to her feet, making sure to give the tiger a pat as she did so. She stretched…Well the meditation had certainly helped to clear her mind, if nothing else.

Her body had gotten in some rest, and a little of the energy she had expended earlier had come back. She was just going to have to hope that she wouldn't need to do anything more than what she had. But at this point, she knew that'd never happen.

It was not that she didn't want to help, she was just aware of the limits, as well as the rules. There was only so much she could do, something she had accepted as fact a very long time ago.

"Hey," she greeted the Ronin of Wildfire, having been quiet as she walked over.

Even though, she probably could have come in with a jamboree and not a one of them would have stirred. That was how exhausted all the warriors were, and how she knew things were only going to get worse now.

Ryo gave a grin, murmuring out, "Hi." He had managed to get into a sitting position, but his muscles were screaming at him for doing it, he did his best to ignore them.

"I'm impressed," Elayne smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "Mia said the first time you used Inferno it knocked you out for a good 24 hours, the times after that about 12."

"How long have I been out?" the Wildfire Ronin asked with a frown.

"Seven hours, give or take a few minutes," the girl offered with a light shrug of her shoulders. She tilted her head at him, "You want to stand up?"

"No, that's why I'm floundering like a fish here," Ryo irately bit out.

Elayne scoffed at him, "You don't have to be crabby, and you could ask for help."

She extended her hand to him and he took it, the girl then gave a quick, but firm, yank that pulled him upward.

Oh if his muscles were irritated before, they were now cursing at him…They were as strained as his speaking voice was, and twice as sore as he had ever remembered them being after a fight. That fight had put too much on him, way too much.

He managed to walk, without aide, to the campfire and sat down with a sigh. White Blaze followed discreetly behind him, and then flopped down next to him, keeping a worried eye on his cub.

Elayne bit down a yawn, as she went over and sat down on the other side of the fire with the black tiger. Who acknowledged her presence with a low rumble; and then a small purr when she stroked him.

Ryo looked around the cavern, noting that his friends were fast asleep, the Inner and Outer Senshi were as well…And the Seasonals, and Elementals were gone. He turned his gaze to Elayne the question clearly present in his face, where had they gone?

"They went to see where we ended up, and if there was a way out of this tunnel," Elayne answered in a quiet tone. "Apparently, Universe sent us out of the one that was collapsing."

"She didn't?" the Ronin of Wildfire queried, it was the way Elayne had said it that made him question. His eyes on the dying fire in front of him. He could feel the warmth, as well as the small amount of strength that slowly crept back into him from it.

The girl shrugged, stirring up the flames, and adding another dead root to it, "Neo did. And before you ask, Aarde's the one that found the "wood"."

"Ah I see," Ryo murmured letting out a sigh. "We were lucky, that could've been worse than what it was. Thanks, Elayne, for helping them…Us."

"You don't have to thank me Ryo, but you know that by now," the girl commented eyeing him with a look of suspicion, "Don't you?"

It had been bugging her ever since he had made the comment he had faith in her, she could have sworn he was implying something there. But she hadn't been sure; now she was certain…Well, nearly certain anyway.

The Ronin of Wildfire gave her an amused grin; he wasn't going to offer a direct answer to that one, "Like I said, I have faith in you."

"Jerk," she told him in a flat tone, and he merely chuckled. After that, the two of them sat in silence…It didn't last very long.

* * *

Black Blaze's ear's twitched back and forth once more, having felt something brush past him. He let out his claws, and emitted a low growl of warning to the anomaly.

Elayne came out of her thoughts and gave a bored roll of her eyes, "Unless you want to be tiger chow, I'd stop hiding behind me Cale."

The Seasonal of Winter chuckled as he stepped out of the shadows, "Seems you have improved."

"Yeah," Elayne stared at a spot directly behind Ryo, "I've gotten to the point where I can now pick out where you and Dais are. Who's trying to eavesdrop as well; ne?"

The man dropped his illusion and smirked at the girl, "If you can call it that."

"Any luck?" Ryo asked the two of them curiously. His tired and sore body was starting to feel better; being close to the fire was helping return some of his depleted strength.

"We didn't happen to have any," Dais replied, quickly seating himself on the ground. "I am unsure about the Elemental Senshi, Elayne hasn't heard back from them?"

"Nope, not yet," the girl answered. Once the Seasonals had learned the girl was capable of slipping past the enemy's block on telepathy, they had implored her to use it to keep in contact with the Elementals which she had done, rather begrudgingly. "But, if anyone of them can find a way out, it'd be Empyrean or Aarde."

Cale gave a slight nod, then queried with a bemused grin, "So tell me doctor, do you think we should try and wake up the others?"

Elayne rolled her eyes at him, knowing the joke all too well by this point. The Winter Seasonal found it highly amusing that she was in the medical field, and was quick to make references to it whenever he could.

"I wouldn't bother, I tried an hour ago just to see if I'd get a response, nada," She shrugged, "Besides it's better to let them wake up on their own. I get that if they sleep too long their going to stiffen up, and their reaction time will be off…But, if they don't get enough rest their time'll be off anyway."

"Ha, they're just sound sleepers," Dais chuckled lightly, taking a twig and stirring the fire.

"You've got no room to talk," here Elayne pointed a finger at him and the other at Cale, "You two are the worst one's to try and wake up."

Before either Seasonal could make a protest, Ryo interjected with a smirk, "She does have a point."

* * *

Ryo had become used to the silence of the cavern, and was slightly startled when he heard movement. He was quick to relax though, upon seeing that is was simply Kayura, Anubis and Sekhmet coming back from their walk

"Back so soon?" Cale directed his comment to the Lady Ancient with a half-smirk.

Kayura looked prepared to rip his throat out, but decided to mind her manners. Instead, she completely ignored the inquiry, and took note of the Ronin Leader's presence, "Glad to see you're awake, Ryo."

"Well, it's nice to see that you haven't killed Cale in my absence," the Wildfire Ronin chuckled, having seen the look on her face but moments before.

Sekhmet snickered, "Only because Elayne wouldn't permit it," He turned and looked to Dais, "Anything?"

"No, and still no contact from the Senshi," the Seasonal replied, casting a side-ways glance at Elayne.

"Hey, no looks. They're ignoring me," the girl grumbled out in slight annoyance, "When they get into a determined mode they're completely unreachable."

Ryo let out a chuckle of amusement, "Aw, don't like being disregarded?"

Elayne glowered at Ryo and proceeded to give him the one finger salute, and his eyes widened in surprise. Kayura chortled and she exchanged a quick high-five with the girl, who was now grinning smugly at Wildfire's bearer.

"What time is it?" Sekhmet queried of the girl…The warriors had also come to the realization that the distorted time energy had been negated, simply because Elayne had spit out a time before…When her watch shouldn't have worked if that distortion had still been present.

"Eight at night," Elayne answered letting out a long drawn out sigh at the pointed look Cale gave her. "Okay, okay! I'll try and wake them up again; I'll press the envelope this time."

Kayura gave a shake of her head, "They still haven't woken up?"

"No, and Mr. Annoying over here has had me bug them on the hour for the past two hours," the girl grumbled out, jerking her thumb at the Winter Seasonal. "He doesn't want to wake them up himself, he wants me to do it."

"That's because he's a coward," Dais snorted out with a laugh.

Cale rolled his eyes, "No, I happen to have self-preservation instincts, unlike the rest of you."

Elayne tuned their bickering out, focusing on the warriors that were still asleep and giving a sharp yank on the connection she had with them. The result was the same as before, she got nothing in response.

"Stubborn mules," she let out a growl of frustration, before focusing solely on the Ronin Warriors.

_ 'Hey guys?' _She reached out, somewhat tentatively, _'Guys?'_

Still she received nothing in the form of a response, so she then shouted aloud, giving an extra hard yank on the mental lines, "**_Oi!_**_ **Wake up already!**"_

_'Go away Elayne!' _Rowen's voice snapped in annoyance.

Cye had a thought rather similar to the archer's, _'Bugger off.'_

_'Cye!' _Kento reprimanded rather quickly,_ 'If I can't swear, you can't either. Anyway An, be a loving little sister and let us sleep.'_

_'Her be loving?' _Sage asked, mirth in his voice, _'You're crazy Kento. Layne, give us a break. We're entitled to rest.'_

"Hey the communication lines are back up," the girl remarked, blinking in surprise, before becoming annoyed with the four young men. "For your information, oh mighty and _wise_ Ronin of Halo, you have been asleep for ten hours now."

The girl rechecked her watch, and decided to bait them, hoping that would work, "But if you guys don't want to wake up I'll understand."

A few sarcastic "thank you's" were sent her way, and a smirk appeared on her face as she added, "Of course, I don't know how I'm going to explain it to Ryo. But, I should be able…"

"What?" Four pairs of eyes shot open, as they came reeling back to consciousness.

The Seasonals couldn't help it, and succumbed to their laughter almost immediately.

Elayne felt oddly pleased, and crossed her arms in front of her chest, a smile on her face, "I _knew_ that would work."

"So you did," The Ronin of Wildfire chuckled, turning his attention to his friends, "Hey guys, nice of you to join the rest of us."

Kento made his way over first, a scowl on his face, "Like you've got room to talk?"

"The next time you suggest something that utterly stupid," Cye snapped in annoyance, sitting down beside Anubis, "I'll promptly knock your lights out."

"I second the motion," Sage said, sitting on the other side of the Spring Seasonal. He thought about it a moment, and corrected himself, "Actually, we'll do that the next time you even _try_ to make a suggestion."

Rowen gave a nod, sitting on the opposite side of the fire so that he was facing Ryo, "Agreed. I hope you enjoyed the fact you almost got yourself killed again."

"Hey!" The Ronin Leader glared at the archer, "What would you have liked for me to do? The Scouts were too far away, the Seasonals had been purposely separated from us before I called Inferno, and you yourself said you were out of ideas."

"Doesn't matter! Ryo have you no care about your own life?" the blond swordsman shot, violet-eyes narrowing at his friend, "Because I'm seriously starting to wonder."

Immediately, Ryo's vivid-blue eyes were ablaze with anger, "This coming from you?"

"Not fair Ryo," Kento murmured out, before stating in annoyance, "There is always another option!"

"Not this time Kento," Ryo spat back, "If there had been, I think between the five of us, we would've come up with it."

"Well then we should've looked harder," Cye angrily retorted, arms crossed in front of his chest.

The Seasonals were deathly quiet and all more than a little taken aback by the bickering. Certainly, they did not want to intrude in this match in the slightest.

Mainly it had to do with the fact they were stunned it was even occurring, and if the Ronins were acting like this with one another? Well, they certainly did not want to start an all out war.

Elayne blinked at the five young men, as the arguing continued, before her brows furrowed. What had gotten into them? It had to have been the energy; it was just a wonder as to why it hadn't gotten to them before this point…It might have been the armors allowing them protection from it.

The Ronins continued the argument, their voices starting to raise in volume…The Senshi were easily awake by then; there was no way anyone could sleep with that going on. Finally, the girl had just about had it.

She had been stuck worrying about them, knowing most of what they were going through and unable to do anything…So by this point her short temper had shortened a great deal. And with the five of them arguing like that, negative energy influenced or not?

…Well, she was a little less worried, and an awful lot pissed off. And her being completely pissed off was never a good thing.

The girl took a very deep breath, stood up, and then shouted over top of the din, "Hashiba Touma, Shu Rei Faun, Mouri Shin, Date Seiji, and Sanada Ryo. **_Shut the hell up_**_!_"

Whatever retorts might have been coming out of their mouths next died on their lips, as each young man paused to stare at the girl. She had screeched at them, and called them by their formal names. They were _toast_.

The Seasonals exchanged glances with one another, and Kayura bit down a laugh knowing it would have been inappropriate to do so. This ought to be good.

"I said to shut _it_, Touma," the girl hissed to the Strata Ronin, her eyes flashed in warning as she had clearly picked up on the fact he was prepared to make a retort.

Immediately he backed off, shut his mouth with a firm snap as his midnight-blue eyes blinked several times in surprise…Obviously they had hit the wrong nerve in her with their argument.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, a darkened scowl upon her face, eyes narrowed into slits as she spoke coldly, "I would like to know, what has possessed each of you to turn into morons! You're screaming and shouting at one another isn't going to change anything. And you guys know that better than anybody else."

"What in the Ancient's name is the matter with the five of you?" Elayne threw up her hands in exasperation, and let out a frustrated sigh eyeing each man carefully.

They made no move to respond to her question, not really knowing the answer to it themselves. Why were they getting so worked up like that? Sure they were annoyed at what had happened, but since when did they get into fights over such things?

"You mean you are fighting like this for no reason?" Kayura brought in now, trying to help them realize the foolishness of such things. She was starting to think, and to feel, that the negative energy had done more than minimally affect them all.

The five young men stayed silent, before offering slight apologies to one another…Slight in the fact all the apologies were mumbled out, and barely discernable.

"Negative energy's really getting to you guys," the Lady Ancient remarked, getting to her feet.

"What leads you to believe that?" Sekhmet inquired a tad curious.

"Isn't it obvious?" Elayne then snorted out, "The fact that the five of them were ready to rip each other's throats out says it all."

Kayura giggled at the analogy, but gave a nod of her head in agreement, "The longer one is exposed to negative energy, and the more likely the person will be affected by it. We've been down here for too long, and the Ronin did suffer a tremendous loss of energy. Whatever protection the armors were offering is now down."

"Shame, cause they're noisy when they fight," Venus remarked, rubbing at her forehead. Boy, did she have a headache now!

"Wonder how long it's been though," Neptune commented. "Time seems to be moving normally now."

Mars had her eyes on Elayne, "Mhm, I wonder."

Elayne scowled immediately, getting where they were trying to steer this conversation, "Oh well, you've only been gone for a week-and-a-half. Of course now, it's closer to two weeks." She ignored their surprised looks and got to her feet, dusting off her jeans.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and scowled, "I've gotten more calls from worried families, disgruntled employers, and concerned coworkers that I felt the need to shoot somebody. Unfortunately, all my targets happen to be right here. So walla, here I am. Now, who wants to be my _first_ volunteer?"

"You don't even know how to use a gun," Rowen said with a snort and roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I do, you can ask your elemental partner. Her father taught me, we used to go out to the range and practice. In fact, my carry-permit is still valid," Elayne responded coolly.

"Do you have one with you?" Uranus dryly queried. She was certainly amused by the statement, but still and all.

"My Magnum is back at the Griffith's," the girl admitted with a sigh. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way." Elayne held out her hand to Sage, "Summon your sword, and fork over the no-datchi Nii-chan. I need to stab someone with it."

The Ronin of Halo blinked, and leaned back a little, "No, that's okay imouto. Leave the murdering to the enemy, all right?"

"Kill joy," the girl groused in disappointment. "Ruin all my fun, why don't you? Must I resort to using my own sharp-pointy object of death for this?"

Now everybody was staring at her, and she offered a wry grin, "Hey I distracted you for more than five minutes, didn't I?"

The warriors all rolled their eyes, now understanding that they had been had…Though, all were rather appreciative for the interruption. That's when the Elemental Senshi returned, and brought grim news with them.

"We have a problem," Empyrean was quick to get straight to the point.

"Both ends of this tunnel are closed off, the one naturally, the other caved in centuries ago," Aarde said with a frown. "I can't find a way out because the rock layers down here are all wrong."

Dais added in, "And I was unable to find where an illusion might be used."

"Oh _great_, we're trapped," Sage rolled his eyes skyward.

* * *

_A/N: Yep, Sage has taken on Rowen's role of stating the painfully obvious xD Anyway, hi folks! Hope you're ready to enjoy summer. This month you get three chapters! Bad news is, I'm only going to give you one in July. Why? Because I put lots of effort and thought into my cliffhangers, and want to get some enjoyment out of them. Even if it does succeed in driving you nuts. xD_

_Enjoy the update!_

_-LG_


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

The minute the Elemental Senshi showed up, was the minute Elayne took the chance to move far enough away from the others before they started to pry for information. She had no desire, at this point, to be harassed about her real reasons for being here.

Unfortunately, the Ronin had stood up when the Senshi had approached, and then noticed she was trying to slink away. They didn't let her get very far before following her.

"As amusing as that was mei mei," Kento said, "That didn't answer the question which needed to be asked."

"What are you doing here?" Cye added in, with a frown.

Elayne momentarily cringed and cursed her bad luck, before turning around to face them. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and stared at them a scowl on her face.

Rowen snorted and jabbed the Halo Ronin in the side, "Looks like you when she does that." The girl's eyes flickered, and Rowen cried, "See! She even does the creepy eye-thing!"

The blond swordsman had just about had enough of being called creepy, scary, and all other words synonymous with those two. He reached up, and nonchalantly smacked Strata's bearer in the back of his head.

"_Ouch!_ Would you guys _quit _doing that?" the blue-haired archer demanded in annoyance, rubbing at the sore spot. Getting smacked with a subarmored hand happened to hurt a lot.

The girl rolled her eyes at the antics, before saying, "I'm here, because I felt like coming."

"Stop being hostile," Rowen told her, still rubbing at the spot.

"Bah! You guys are hopeless. You want to know why I'm here fine," Elayne sighed through her nose, "Ask Sage."

The Ronin Warriors were all dumbfounded, and that included the Ronin of Halo…The girl let out a low moan, brother they could be so embarrassing!

"Ugh," she pinched at the bridge of her nose. "Nii-chan, do you remember what you made me promise?"

Sage thought about it, though it took him a moment, "Yes. If you got in too deep to come to us-" He left his sentence half finished, as she gave a nod, and moved to pull the shirt she was wearing off.

The girl heard them squeak out protests, and paused, "Get _over _yourselves would you please? I'm wearing a freakin' tank top underneath." They were hopeless, they really were.

Elayne pulled off the shirt, and tossed it onto the ground…Angry bruises, and only now scarred over wounds were easily visible on her arms. The tank top itself, barely covered a slightly healed over gash on her stomach.

"What the-" the ending to Ryo's sentence was lost as he was unable to finish it, completely taken aback by what he was seeing.

The girl bent over and picked back up her shirt, putting it back on, "You were putting up more of a fight than what they had counted on. I was a loose end that needed tying up."

"Sorry you guys," Elayne rolled her shoulders as they had started to stiffen up, "But I'd rather be an inconvenience, than a pawn to be used against you."

Sage gave a nod in understanding, quick to query, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," the girl waved off his concern, saying with a grin. "Hell of a lot better off than you guys."

The five young men rolled their eyes at that, before diverting their attention back to the conversation still taking place behind them.

* * *

"So, basically, no one can find a way out of here?" Mars inquired in an annoyed tone.

Neptune was frowning, "Looks that way."

"Kayura, what about the staff?" Sekhmet spoke to the Lady Ancient, "Might it be of some use?"

The woman shook her head, "It hasn't responded to any of my calls since we've been down here. It probably wouldn't do well in this atmosphere anyway; it's far heavier than the Nether Realm."

"Guess we haven't missed anything important," Kento remarked, as he and the others had finished walking back over.

Uranus gave a snort, "You haven't missed _anything_."

"Comforting," the Ronin of Torrent quipped, trying to alleviate some of the tension.

Nova cleared her throat, "You know, there might be a solution to this problem."

_'Uh oh, here it comes,' _the black tiger rolled his eyes to the cavern ceiling, remembering the Elemental Leader all too well. _'She's going to point out we can be **useful**.'_

White Blaze gave a snort_, 'Oh this should be good, and then they're going to debate over whether or not it's feasible.'_

Elayne heard the tigers' exasperated conversation, and queried, "Think you can find where the manipulation is?"

_ 'Certainly, without time being distorted like it was before they can't mask it,' _White Blaze answered.

"Then would you please locate it?" she asked them, with a bow of her head, "I'm sure they'd be grateful."

Black Blaze gave a chuckle at the formality, and bowed back, _'We'll be back shortly.'_

"Well, the tigers should be able-" Nova began and then watched as the two animals darted off. She had a disgruntled look on her face, as she finished, "To see past any illusion."

Elayne felt that there were now quite a few eyes on her, and she gave a snort, "What? By the time you all finished discussing it I'd be buried in the family plot."

"Mei mei," Kento chuckled at her comment and shook his head.

"It's true!" the girl protested, adding further, "Instead of having a United States Congress meeting, you need decisive action."

The Elementals were chortling, as they were the only ones fully capable of appreciating that statement. Elayne sighed through her nose a little, she was doing her best to keep the mood light, but it was rather hard.

"You're crazy," the Senshi of Mars remarked with an amused shake of her head.

"Hey what can I say? I'm just the cheerleader," Elayne said with a loose shrug of her shoulders.

Rowen perked up as he now had the perfect opening to make a sly comment, and he smirked, "Oh really? When you going to put on the mini-skirt?"

The girl simply reached over and whacked him in the back of the head, dryly responding, "I'd rather wear your banana-helmeted armor first."

The Ronin of Strata just gaped at her, while everyone else burst into laughter.

* * *

"How long do we-" Jupiter began, blinking in surprise when a roar sounded and the two tigers emerged from the darkness.

Kento was quite impressed, "That was fast, they've been gone for fifteen minutes at most."

"Good boys," Elayne cooed at them, having sunk down to give out well-earned strokes and scratches as well as to better listen to what they had to tell her.

She was thoughtful as Black Blaze rumbled out the information, and was quick to relay it, "There's one not more than forty feet up ahead on the left, another sixty feet from that there's one on the right. The left leads upward, the right down. They know exactly where we are." She paused and then nodded, the tiger having added something, "We're up exactly twenty feet from the last tunnel, and half a mile from the collapse. This was one of the main tunnels until the fighting in it caused it to fall; the enemy haven't used it in ages."

"We all walked up and down these tunnels and couldn't find anything," the Senshi of Earth muttered. "I couldn't find a break, and neither could Empyrean."

"Nor could I see any illusions, and that's my forte," the Summer Seasonal brought in. "How did they manage it?"

Elayne wrinkled her nose, but paused as White Blaze rumbled something. She let out a chuckle in amusement, "He says you were looking too hard. You all were looking for something complex, when in fact it was nothing more than a simple light refraction."

"That'd do it then, I never thought to look for that."

Sekhmet let out an exasperated sigh at hearing this from the white-haired man, "Well? Shall we move on then, take the left up back towards the surface?"

"Do you think moving now is such a good idea?" Neptune inquired with a frown. "They're sure to have patrols looking for us."

"And if we stay here we're sitting ducks," the Ronin of Strata pointed out. "More so if Akemliek gets free."

_ 'Oh brother, here we go again,'_ White Blaze moaned out. _'I can understand it from before, but they're adults now, not seventeen-year-olds!'_

_'You so sure about that? Anyway, let's just get out of here,'_ the black tiger grumbled, turning around.

Elayne got back to her feet, "Not without me you two don't."

"Or me," Ryo added in.

The Ronin of Wildfire fell into step with the tigers and the girl, "They can debate about it all they want. I don't want to be in this dead end tunnel when the enemy shows up, or in this domain when Akemliek gets loose."

Kayura had been listening to their conversation, and was quick to join them, "Count me in."

Sage, being Sage, had simply listened to everything going on around him, barely offering input because he felt it was unnecessary, and easily trailed after the five of them.

He was kind enough to call back over his shoulder, "Are you guys coming, or what?"

"Hey, Ry, Sage, wait up!" the Ronin of Hardrock needed no further pushing than that, as he was quick to jog to catch up.

Rowen and Cye exchanged looks with each other, shrugged, and followed.

"Hey! Wait a minute you guys," the Senshi of Mars made a face, grumbling out, "Impulsive people."

Saturn gave a snort, saying as she started to walk off, "We can plan our escape, and how to avoid large enemy numbers, as we walk. It's called multi-tasking."

"And if we don't come up with anything?" Sailor Moon inquired with a frown.

Cale gave a snort; he and the other Seasonals had simply started after the Ronin Elementals. The four older warriors had no desire to stand around and become stationary enemy targets.

"Ever heard of the term 'winging it'?" the Winter Seasonal queried from over his shoulder.

Anubis rolled his eyes, "You're staying _away _from the dictionary from here on out."

* * *

"I can't sense any Raikken," Kayura murmured as they stood before what looked like a normal wall, but was where the tiger's said the illusion was.

"What are we waiting for then, Golden Week?" Ryo joked as he moved to walk through, but the swordsman of Halo held him back. "Huh, Sage?"

"You holding up all right?" the violet eyes flickered slightly, as if trying to scan him to make sure.

Ryo gave a grin, "Ya, I'm fine, the Jewel's doing wonders. Even if I wasn't, we don't have time to sit around while I get 'better.' So let's just go."

"All right," Sage left it at that, allowing his Leader and the tigers to walk through followed by the Lady Ancient. He saw Elayne smiling at him, "What?"

"Nothing, just enjoying you acting all protective older-brother on someone other than me," she quipped as they walked through the illusion at the same time.

Sage snorted in response to that, but did not bother to make a return comment to it.

There was no need for one to be made, especially when the girl at his side knew him well enough to know the retort that would have been made. But as he looked at her now, his thoughts from before came back to bother him yet again.

The way she had fought had been different, different than when he and the others had first seen her take out a Raikken. The hesitance that was sometimes in her step was completely gone now, but Sage did realize she was on guard right now.

Her hazel-violet eyes kept scanning the cavern, uneasily darting back and forth. Elayne's entire body was tensed, ready for anything that might possibly come.

"Nii-chan, stop analyzing me like that," she finally sighed out. "You're making me jumpy."

The Ronin of Halo blinked a little, offered a small smile in apology, "Sorry, I'm just trying to figure something out."

"Why my fighting seems to be a bit more," the girl tried to think of the right word, and failed to come up with one.

"Aggressive?" Kento offered up, being right behind them.

Elayne chuckled, "Ya, maybe that Gege. I guess you noticed too, huh?"

"Kinda hard not to mei mei," the Ronin of Hardrock murmured. "I've never seen you fight like that before."

"You both are, number one, way too protective of me, and number two, read into things too much," the girl told them with a slight eye roll. "The last time you saw me fight was when you clearly had the upper hand, you didn't have that here. I change my tactics depending on the situation, you taught me to do that. You all did."

"Yes, but the look in your eyes," Sage murmured quietly, "And added to the way you were moving, it just seemed…" The ending to his sentence he left up in the air, unsure how to finish it, and doubting if he even should.

A pained look crossed her face for a moment, but was gone as quickly as it had appeared, "Nii-chan, we talked about this already. There's things I want to tell you, but I can't. Gege," she turned her attention to Kento now, "You and I had a talk too, you know I'm more capable than how I act…And that there are things I can do, and have been able to do for a long time, that I just couldn't explain to you if I tried."

"I wish I could," Elayne let out a strangled sigh, closed her eyes a moment, and then reopened them. "You've still got your secrets, and I have to have mine. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Kento placed a subarmored hand on her shoulder, "Don't sweat it mei mei, okay? Everything'll be fine. "

The girl gave a small smile, and placed her hand over top of his, "I hope so, Gege." She didn't sound convinced, and that bothered the Warrior of Strength quite a bit.

Normally, if he told her something like that, she would have believed him instantly, not bothered to question it. Or, at least, sounded more reassured than what she did right then.

Sage was inwardly frowning, turning it all over in his head. He just couldn't understand it, why couldn't she tell them? The Ronin of Halo was frustrated; he knew she wanted to tell them what was going on, and knew it was tearing her up that she couldn't.

It just didn't answer the question of why, and he had a sinking feeling he was soon going to find out the answer…And that he was not at all going to like it.

The blond swordsman suddenly snapped back to the world around him, and came to an abrupt halt. In an instant the armor of Halo had formed around him, and he withdrew his no-datchi.

His acute senses were once more working, and he had felt the small shift in energy before the other's had. Soon, they too were fully armored up. Sage turned his violet eyes to Elayne, "I understand imouto, and you know that. Also, Kento's right it'll be fine. Now you might want to fall back."

"All right, Nii-chan," the girl murmured quietly, starting to take his advice.

"Elayne?" he tentatively called after her.

The girl halted, turned her head to stare back at him, "Hm?"

"Stay out of trouble," the Ronin of Halo said with a wry grin, it had always been his way of telling her to be careful.

Elayne let out a light laugh at hearing this, before saying, "Same to you, Seiji-nii-chan."

"I'll try, no promises," the swordsman told her, watching as she fell back, once content she was far enough away he turned his attention back to the others.

Kento let out a chuckle in amusement, "She brings out the softy in you Sage."

"Guess that makes you a slushy," the swordsman said in retort, before his amusement faded, and his violet eyes narrowed. "Here they come."

* * *

The warriors had come closer to the exit, and with that knowledge well known to Akemliek, he had sent a force to delay them. The Raikken would keep the warriors preoccupied long enough for Thanos to finish reciting the incantation that would break the seal, and join in the fighting to potentially avenge his sister.

Once the seal shattered completely, Akemliek fully planned on joining him and disposing of as many of the warriors as he could. The Elders could not help because they had no way to reach into his domain, and the only being that could potentially bail out the Senshi and Ronin?

The seal on Universe's powers might have been broken, but the fact of the matter was her connection to that energy had to be restored before she could use any of the power. This was knowledge Akemliek had known for quite some time, knowledge he stored far too much confidence in.

He knew she had abused the powers the Council had left her with…Her excessive use of them over time had left her absolutely nothing left to fight with. As far as Akemliek was concerned, she was the only one that could help and she was now useless.

…He should have known better. The warriors luck had never once failed them even after all this time…

* * *

_A/N: For those who don't know "Golden Week" in Japan is centered around several public holidays. Golden Week, (or Ōgata renkyū, or Ōgon shūkan as it is also called) is used to describe the period the holidays take place in, the first week of May. Also, Golden Week is said to have been the week that Arago/Talpa first started his invasion of the mortal realm._

* * *


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**

* * *

**

**Earlier**

Thanos had arrived back rather promptly, a distinct scowl marring his features. The Raikken were quick to pick up on his foul temper and wisely kept quiet.

"I am sorry," Akemliek had gotten to his feet and began pacing the minute he had sensed the white armor. He was well aware of what had happened to Kali, and knew that it had not been part of the plan. "I am certain you will want revenge, but letting any form of emotion cloud your judgment is foolish and human."

"Of course, you are right," the ice demon responded, querying, "I take it the Raikken have gotten everything in place?"

"Yes, it took them long enough," he grumbled out sounding slightly annoyed. "But, I don't want them reciting the incantation without you being here to supervise."

Thanos gave a nod, "I understand." He turned his attention to the Raikken and said in a cool voice, "Begin."

* * *

After so much time, it was understandable that Akemliek was impatient. It also made sense that for a spell which required two hours just to recite never mind adding the energy, for it to take more than that was going to make him even _more_ impatient.

The problem with the spell was, not only did the collected energy have to be released at the precise moment; the fact that even the slightest mispronunciation would result in the spell having to be repeated.

Well, the Raikken hadn't even managed to get ten minutes into reciting it, before one misread a symbol as "fluffy" instead of "fury." Talk about embarrassing.

Unfortunately, Akemliek's luck did not improve after that point. The Raikken managed to get about twenty minutes in before one completely skipped a line…Resulting it being immediately destroyed due to the curse on the seal.

Basically, if any who attempted to read the spell skipped lines, they would suffer the wrath of fire. As for why it didn't do the same to those who misread symbols, he didn't have a clue.

When the Raikken bungled their fourth attempt, Thanos had them excused saying that they were needed for a much more important task. He wanted them to hunt down and engage the warriors in combat. They took this opportunity gladly having feared the wrath of a very peeved master.

Akemliek was hoping though, that they'd be the first batch the warriors destroyed. It'd certainly save him the trouble of having to do it later.

Thanos motioned to a group he had waiting in the hall, and they quickly came in. He stressed that they needed to get it _'right.' _These Raikken were at a higher level than the previous ones, and were thus blessed with slightly more brain matter.

They completely got the implication in what the ice demon said.

Of course, with the knowledge that bungling the spell resulted in death, and failure to free Akemliek resulted in death they took their time reciting the incantation…And they _really _took their time.

All the while Thanos watched those handling the energy that Kali had managed to collect with a hawk's eye, prepared to snap at them should they even put an armor toe out of line. Even with his staring making them exceedingly nervous, they were careful and did not drop anything.

"Hm," Thanos murmured, "They found the warriors."

"Let's hope they can keep them engaged long enough for this to get done," Akemliek grumbled, having started to pace once again. He really _hated _being stuck in a position where he couldn't do anything.

* * *

**Present Time**

Sailor Neptune let her attack fly, and slid to a halt next to Sailor Mars, "Never seems to end does it?"

"Nope," the Fire Senshi responded, doing her best to cut through the Raikken herself. "They have to run out of these stupid things sooner or later."

The Senshi of the Galaxy gave a derisive snort, "Don't hold your breath. Akemliek's been raising this army ever since he got sealed; we've probably put barely a dent in his true forces."

"Cheerful thought," Jupiter remarked, dropping back so that she was next to her Princess. "Not going to help us get through this though."

Saturn cut off Galaxy's retort with, "We just have to suffer through this, the closer we get to the exit the more resistance they're going to give us; it's as simple as that."

"True enough," Mercury said with a nod. "If we let this get to us now, they'll beat us all too easily."

Uranus gave a snort and rolled her eyes, commenting, "Not like we're actually winning right now anyway."

"Uranus you're such a pessimist," the Moon Princess teased with a light laugh, biting down a yelp when she almost got stab. "Hey! Watch it you samurai reject!"

Pluto shook her head in somewhat belated amusement at this, but said nothing.

The eldest of the Senshi had more important things to worry about than partaking in conversations. Universe had helped them out, or Neo Universe at any rate, but she had not sensed the warrior since then. Nor had she been able to detect her before the help had been offered.

The Time Guardian was uneasy, the fact of the matter was, the warriors were not even supposed to be here right now. Time had been altered and she had no idea where it was going to go, and this fact that made her very uneasy. But, she was just going to have to trust that Universe knew what she was doing. The Scout normally did.

"Where are the Ronin?" Venus inquired, "I can't see them through all these helmeted heads, even if their helmets are weird."

"We're over here," Anubis' voice rang out from the other end of the cavern. He had seen his comrades and the Ronin make faces at the "weird helmets" comment, while Kayura had merely sniggered in amusement.

Ryo paused a moment as he surveyed the wall of Raikken, before going back to hacking through the demons, "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Yeah," Kento gave a grunt as he smashed into a Raikken, "Don't get killed."

"Brilliant Hardrock," Sekhmet snorted out, querying, "What other elaborate schemes have you planned?"

Kayura visibly winced at hearing that, "Ouch, rough crowd."

"You don't know the half of it," Rowen told her with an amused laugh, saying, "Oi, Sekhmet don't be so crabby."

The Ronin of Halo spoke up from a few feet away, "And if you _dare _say you can't help it because you spent over a week with me, you are going to have a date with my no-datchi."

The Fall Seasonal shut his mouth with a snap, while Dais let out an amused chuckle at the situation. The Summer Seasonal was trying to find a way out of this situation for all of them, but the more he tried to think about it, the harder it became.

"Sekhmet isn't the only one who's being testy," the Torrent Ronin brought in with a light laugh.

Cale snorted in amusement, "Whatever gave you that impression?"

White Blaze gave a roll of his brown eyes, _'Someone explain to me, how they managed to survive two weeks down here?'_

The black tiger snorted his laughter, _'They weren't all in the same group.'_

_'That answers it,'_ the white tiger sighed through his nose. White Blaze then frowned,_ 'I have a feeling that this isn't going to last much longer.'_

_ 'As do I,' _Black Blaze gave a slight nod of his head in agreement, his eyes narrowing as he looked around.

_'You all right?'_ White Blaze rumbled out to the girl standing next to him. He watched her with a frown as she looked deep in thought; he let out a low whine and bumped her in the knee.

"Huh?" Elayne jumped forward, startled for a moment before she let out a small smile, "I'm good." She gave a visible wince, and rubbed at her sore arm. It was starting to bother her, being this close and having to sit idly by…She was starting to wonder why she had even bothered to come.

Suddenly the image flashed in her mind, and she gritted her teeth together. That was the entire reason she had gone this far, to prevent death…She just hoped her intervention would be enough.

Black Blaze shook his head a little, _'They're starting to tire already. The Raikken's numbers are only now starting to escalate. If they don't do something decisive, and soon, they are going to become overrun.'_

The girl was silent, her one hand clasped tightly around the jewel she had always worn. It was humming, ever so softly, and she knew what it meant. It was a warning…A sign of things to come.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and the Raikken had once again swelled in number. The situation was becoming desperate, and they all knew and accepted that. The problem was exactly what were they supposed to do about it?

They had to change the battle so that it was in their favor and not the enemy's, but to accomplish that they needed to be able to think clearly.

The warriors were exhausted after finding out they'd been fighting in Akemliek's domain for almost two weeks; they had certainly felt entitled to the fatigue. It just wasn't helping them gain anything more than a quick trip to a permanent nap.

"I'm out of ideas," the Strata Ronin announced, letting out a barrage of arrows. It was his third time doing that, and would probably be his last. He just did not have the power to shoot off that many, and create more while they were in mid-flight.

Cye let out an annoyed growl, as he cut through a Raikken, "We all are, we've been at this for too long. We have to find a way to end this, and before Thanos or Akemliek comes calling."

"How are we supposed to do that Cye?" the Ronin of Hardrock asked, "We're still barely recovering from using Inferno, and have all but exhausted ourselves using our surekills."

Sage and Ryo were both quiet, having managed to fight their way to one another. The blond swordsman shook his head to Ryo's unasked questions, and the Ronin Leader frowned.

"Maybe we should use our last option," the archer muttered. "Again."

The Ronin of Halo was scowling, "You were fighting using it the last time, now you want to use it? Make up your mind Rowen. Last time we had no other choice, this time-"

"We might end up without having one again," Ryo broke in now, offering, "Hey, it can't be as bad as when we had to deal with Sarenbo."

"Dude, nothing was as bad as that," the Warrior of Strength brought in with a chuckle, "'Cept maybe the bug-eyed dude."

Kayura had heard their conversation and now cut into it, "You can't be serious! You can't use Inferno again, not this soon!"

The Lady Ancient paused in her fighting for a brief moment, "It's a miracle the use of Inferno didn't kill you last time." This she said to Ryo, before turning her gaze to the other four, "But it'll definitely kill all five of you this time."

"We know that Kayura," Cye told her in a quiet tone of voice.

Sage let out a sigh, "But, if that is to be our fate then so be it."

"It's the only choice we have," Kento agreed.

"Far from it," the Winter Seasonal suddenly brought in. "Your armors are not the only ones that can be used to form Inferno."

Rowen's eyes widened in slight surprise, he had almost forgotten about that…But still, with the Seasonal armors being different from the last set, wouldn't that prevent it from working?

"Suzunagi cast our armors the same way she did yours," Dais said in a calm tone.

"However, there is still a problem," the green-haired Seasonal of Fall commented.

"Our armors could be used," Anubis said, eyes looking to the Ronin of Wildfire, "But, it won't change the fact your body cannot sustain the white armor this soon."

"Better if I die then all of us," the Ronin Leader retorted, starting to get annoyed by this point.

* * *

Empyrean had been listening to this line of talk from the beginning, and she hesitated in her attack, to call out, "Hey, Nova! I think it's time for the gloves to come off."

"Are you nuts?" the Elemental Leader responded, biting down a yelp, and sliding under the Raikken that had almost impaled her.

"I'm with Empyrean on this one," the Senshi of Water and Ice announced. "It's the best way; we can't afford to lose one of the Ronin anyway. Especially since they're needed to take Akemliek out for good."

Aarde had moved to where the tigers and Elayne stood, she had watched the girl pale when the Ronin had started talking about using the Inferno again. Now hearing that the Elementals were ready to take certain measures, she looked ill.

"An-chan?" the Senshi of Earth queried gently, Elayne looked at her with worried eyes. "You need to get out of here. Especially with the way things seem to be headed."

"I'm not leaving Aarde, not now, and certainly not if things get worse. I'm not eleven years old-" she knew the words coming from Earth next, and said, "And not an innocent either. I'm staying here, and how do you expect me to get past all that?"

Aarde gave a grin, "You're resourceful. I'm sure you could find a way to get the crystal to teleport you."

"Kirstin, you just gave me an idea," the girl said before darting off.

The Senshi of Earth blinked, as she queried to the open air, "Was it a good idea, or a bad idea?" She sighed through her nose, "Somehow, I don't think I want to know."

* * *

Elayne managed to maneuver around the Raikken easily enough, they weren't really that concerned with her at this point in time. After all, they had much more impressive opponents to deal with than her.

The girl drew to a halt, eyes skimming the crowd once more for the person she was looking for. She had to wait a few minutes before her friend's head became visible, and the girl dashed off once more.

"Kayura!"

The Lady Ancient had just finished bouncing off a Raikken's chest plate, and lancing her sword through another when she heard Elayne call her name, "What are you doing over here?"

"Sight-seeing," the girl commented with a grin, before becoming serious. "Look, I know you told me the Ancient taught you a mass transportation spell. I also get that the staff hasn't come to you since you got down here. But stop fighting, and try calling it now."

"What?" Kayura blinked her eyes in confusion then frowned when the girl took off the crystal letting the jewel rest in her palm.

Elayne had a grim look on her face, "The Cimmerian crystal should negate the remaining energy blocking you from calling the staff. I think it didn't come originally because of the distortion of time and space, in addition to the fact that you're technically in a different realm. It couldn't find you; the crystal should permit it to find you."

"All right," the woman sheathed her jitte, calling out to Anubis, "Cover me, would you please?"

"On it," the Spring Seasonal said with a nod of his head.

The Last of the Ancient's clan closed her eyes and concentrated, her brows furrowed as she tried to locate the shajuko and call it to her. Her eyes shot open in surprise as the mystical object appeared in front of her, and she reached out a hand and grasped it.

"It worked," Elayne looked about as surprised as Kayura, but she quickly shook it off. "The only way you guys are going to get out of here alive, is if you use that teleportation spell."

"I can't teleport the Senshi though, and they're too weak to teleport themselves," the woman remarked, blinking in surprise when the girl opened her hand and dropped the black jewel into it.

The girl looked Kayura in the eye, "You can with the crystal, it's tied to them, like the Jewel of Life and staff are tied to the Ronin. It'll let you tap into its power for this, because it knows who you are and respects your lineage and thus you."

"How do you know all of this?" the Ancient's descendant asked with a bemused grin.

Elayne gave a wry grin, "How do I ever know anything?"

"You see it," Kayura shook her head, "All right, it's worth the shot. You hear that Ronin? This means any of you try and form Inferno, I'm shoving the shajuko in a not-so-nice place."

"Yes ma'am," the Warrior of Strength called out, saying with a smirk. "Of course wouldn't work on Sage, he's already-"

"Kento, you keep it up, and I'LL kill you, Akemliek can get in line," the swordsman shot back, effectively cutting Hardrock's bearer off.

* * *

Nova had weighed the options and risks over in her head a few dozen times now. Her Scouts seemed adamant about this, and she felt they had every right to be.

The problem that was really causing her to hesitate was whether or not they could handle it. Well, either way, if someone didn't do something soon everyone was going to be dead and long before Akemliek ever showed.

"All right _fine_," she finally announced, knowing she would regret the decision eventually. "Take them off."

"Yes!" the Senshi of Air whooped, grinning when Aarde raised both eyebrows at the display. "What? I've been dying to do major damage since we got down here."

The small bracelets that each Elemental Senshi had overtop of their gloves, had never seemed to be out of place. Everyone had naturally accepted it was just a quirky part of their fuku, and had no real special meaning.

Imagine their surprise when each young woman touched the stone in their bracelet, their energy levels shooting up and their elements solidified into a metal weaponized form.

"They have weapons?" Sailor Jupiter blinked in surprise. She was not the only Senshi taken aback by this.

Galaxy gave a snort, "Apparently, they do. Wonder how long they've had them."

Elayne had long ago left where the Ronin were fighting, moving back to where the two tigers lay in wait, which was far closer to the Senshi. She heard the comments made, and decided to explain.

"You guys are forgetting the fact they were gifted the left over armor power, it might not be all that strong, but it is powerful enough for them to have weapons to channel that energy."

Venus almost jumped out of her skin, not having expected Elayne to be that close to them, "And they haven't used these before, because?"

"Being armor power based, it's no different from the guys when they use their surekills," the girl murmured, warily eyeing the Elementals energy levels knowing they'd drop eventually. "It requires concentration, and a lot of energy to summon and form the weapons. They've only used them twice before, and were wiped out a good two weeks after that."

"Wow," Sailor Moon commented, frowning, "They've pulled out all the stops."

"Well, we can't let the Ronin outdo us by using that super-armor of theirs," Empyrean laughingly commented, twirling her naginata, a smirk on her face as she asked the Raikken, "So, who wants to play with me first?"

"You're stealing my lines," Glacia commented with a chuckle, her westernized bow was held lightly in her hands, before she reached back to her quiver and gripped two arrows. "Let's dance, dough for brains." She let the arrows fly, and as they streaked off and connected with Raikken, they detonated.

Aarde sighed out through her nose, and shook her head, "Just once, could they act their ages?" She turned her wakizashi in her hands easily, then slipped into a fighting stance.

"Keep dreaming sister," the Elemental Leader gave a chuckle, before rushing forward into the Raikken, her tonfas might have looked harmless but they were not. Once they came into contact with Raikken the rounded ends extended into points easily piercing armor and demon. "C'mon Aarde those two are showing us up."

The earth Senshi gave a derisive snort, "Ya, like that means anything to me. Worry about mowing down the Raikken, we can compare who has the better weapon, and better skill with said weapon, _later_."

"You know," Glacia called out to her friend, "You remind me of Halo. A total and _complete _stick in the mud."

"I_ heard_ that," Sage's voice rang out clearly above the fighting.

This got much laughter out of the warriors, and permitted them to gain the upper hand over the Raikken, in fact the numbers stopped abruptly increasing.

Within ten minutes the number of Raikken had substantially dropped off, but the feeling that something was wrong had started to creep into each warrior's mind, nagging at them relentlessly.

The Wildfire Ronin just about had the breath knocked out of him, and he knew then what had happened, and exactly how much worse this had become, "Akemliek's free."

* * *

Finally, the Raikken had reached where the spell called for the power…And as each line was recited, the collected power was released from the special containers it had been placed in. Upon being released it connected with the 'sheet of ice' that the seal happened to have formed in.

As the Raikken moved to release the last of the power that had been gathered, that of Inferno…Thanos felt a sharp rise in energy and wisely teleported out of the room.

Before the Raikken could release that power it burst from the container, incinerating all the Raikken in the room, and then connected with the seal…The entire cavern gave a violent tremble for a brief moment and then quieted.

Sensing that the danger was gone, Thanos came back into the room. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited to see if anything would happen. After everything they had to go through to get to this point, it had better work.

Even though it had been hit with all that power, the wall did not shatter. Instead it slowly began to fade away, inch by inch and layer by layer.

Akemliek permitted himself a sigh of relief, as with each layer that faded, some of the magic that had bound him also started to vanish. He got up from the chair he had flopped down in, and waited with a small amount of patience for the last layers to fade.

The remaining layer abruptly shattered, and the being emerged taking in a deep breath, before slowly letting it back out. At long lasts he was free.

"Am I glad to be out of there," Akemliek muttered as he put on his dark brown wrist guards, overtop his long black shirt. He finally paused in what he was doing to look at Thanos, and regarded him with an amused smile, "Not what you were expecting, eh?"

The only odd thing about Akemliek was his striking height; his skin was pale in color but almost on par with a human's skin tone (if they happened to lack pigment). His hair was a shade away from being pure white, and appeared to be ice blue tinted and it was cut to just below his ear.

Really, he didn't even look like a nonhuman, especially with the fact he was wearing black pants, and that long-sleeve shirt. Yet the material was nothing found on Earth, and actually enhanced his power…When he had access to it, anyway.

Thanos gave a snort, rolling his steel-gray eyes, the green flecks shimmering slightly, "Kali and I joined you when you sensed us nearby and reached out to our minds. You appealed to our natures, and convinced us to join."

Here the ice demon re-crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Physical appearance matters little in our world. And since when do all demons have to look as awful as Talpa?"

"Ah you saw pictures of him," Akemliek snorted down an amused laugh, before saying, "True enough, you did look surprised though." He now flexed his arms, and proceeded to crack his neck.

While being locked up like that he had managed to keep in shape, but he had not been able to do all that much.

Thanos was quiet as his master worked out some kinks, before deciding the being wasn't going to give him any direction unless he asked, "What is your next plan of action?"

"Oh," He paused in stretching out his legs, and held out his palm, scowling when nothing happened. "Well, I'm not fighting them now. My powers are returning far too slow." Akemliek sounded rather annoyed at his predicament, "I was hoping they'd return at a more rapid rate than this."

"The Raikken still have them engaged, and they were starting to lose. Somehow they have managed to gain a small amount of hope back, and are now at an advantage. It's a miniscule one, but it's still there."

Akemliek was now amused, as he finished stretching out his legs finally, "Maybe they've finally improved." The being now looked to Thanos, "I am certain you would like to repay the warriors for their earlier actions, most notable the Ronin?"

"That I would," the ice demon remarked, now standing at full attention.

Akemliek rolled his shoulders and they too cracked, "In that case, standing around here isn't going to do much."

The ice demon blinked in surprise at hearing that, before understanding it was really an actual dismissal. He gave a bow of his head, and then vanished from sight.

Akemliek knew full well that going to fight the warriors now with only half his strength was a stupid idea, it was better to let Thanos deal with them until his own strength got back up.

The ages old being walked out of the room, and started down the tunnel taking this chance to further stretch his legs. He also would like to see how much of his domain had changed while he had been locked up.

Akemliek was not bothered by the possibility the warriors would escape his domain before he got to them. The actual chances of that were _very_ slim. Besides, even if they did manage to pull it off, he would deal with them later.

After all…He had yet to fail in destroying them.

* * *

_a/n: Yes, I know I'm mean; but my villians are more oft than not the comic relief in my stories. Why? Because in my mind they are not allowed to be exempt from "stupid things" happening to them. And if you didn't see the Sailor Elemental-having-weapons-thing coming, you probably should have. I try to point this out when I can, but TGOL is filled with cliches because that's the way I wanted it. I wanted to take the vast amount of fanfic cliches I've seen and put my own spin on them, and there was no better story to do that in, than this massive RW/SM crossover. And why did I not move this story to the crossover section? Because it does not equally focus on the Senshi, this story is about the Ronin, the Senshi are the supporting cast. _


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter: Twenty-Five**

**Written: July 2005**

**

* * *

**

"Wonderful," Nova paused in her advance against the Raikken. "This just went from bad to worse."

Empyrean gave a snort, wielding her naginata and moving through as many of the demons as she could. Suddenly, the Senshi of Air tensed before letting out a yell as she was knocked off her feet. Her weapon went clattering to the ground, and then vanished…Empyrean didn't get back up.

The Sailor of Light looked to where hear teammate had fallen, prepared to cry out, only to wince in pain as something punched her hard in the gut. Her hold on concentration slipped and the tonfas vanished, before she was kicked hard in the ribs and knocked back several feet immediately collapsing to the ground.

"Watch it, it's Thanos," Glacia called out to her best friend, who gave a nod in understanding.

Aarde growled bringing up her sword to block the ice demon's strike, "Ya I figured it was him. So why can't we see him?"

By this point most of the other warriors had taken notice of what was happening to the Elemental Senshi, and while they would have liked to have been of some use they were rather pre-occupied.

But, the Fall Seasonal had paid enough attention to remark, "He's moving too fast for your eyes to pick it up."

"That and it's possible he's manipulating the space around you so it makes it look like he isn't there," Dais added in.

Both men happened to be professionals at the stunts Thanos was currently using, and could most likely give lectures on the subject.

Aarde was thoroughly annoyed now, "Coward!"

After that comment, the ice demon knocked the wakizashi from her hands, and then hit her in the back of her head with his hilt. Like the two other Elemental Senshi, Aarde instantly collapsed and didn't move.

_'He's relying on the fact we're tired, and our senses are being skewed by the Raikken's presence over top of the negative energy. Add to the fact we have to concentrate to form and use our weapons,' _Glacia gritted her teeth together in annoyance, _'An, I don't suppose you could give me a little help with this?'_

_ 'Already working on it,' _the girl murmured back over the link.

The Elemental Senshi, early on, had learned to count on Elayne especially when their senses were being misled. For some reason the enemy's energy, and spells, never had any affect on the girl.

The four had never quite understood it, neither had the girl for that matter, but none of them had bothered to question it too much. That little blessing came in exceedingly handy in dire situations.

_ 'Behind you, and to the left!'_

Glacia quickly took aim as she followed the girls directions, and actually managed to hit the demon…It wasn't where she had hoped to strike him, but the arrow now protruded from his leg. Her eyes flashed, "Not so macho now, are you?"

Thanos was slightly taken aback, how had she found him out? Well, he couldn't worry about that right now. He easily removed the arrow from his leg, acting as though the wound were not even there.

"I know better than to attack you head on, especially when you have so much energy left to use against me. In your minds, I am evil, am I not? So, when have you ever known 'evil' to play fair?"

The ice demon now lightly held his sword in his hands, "And if you noticed, I merely subdued your friends. You'll be joining them soon enough. I have a personal matter to take up with the Ronin."

Glacia's eyes narrowed as she drew an arrow from her quiver, "I don't go down that easily."

She was quick to fire and he dodged, just like she had expected him too. As he moved to avoid the one, another was already sent streaming his way. However, to her annoyance he managed to avoid it completely.

The Senshi of Water and Ice managed to keep pace with Thanos for several more minutes, before she lost her balance having tried to dodge a beam of energy he sent at her. The ice demon wasted no time in taking advantage of this, quickly disarming the Senshi.

Just as he was prepared to deliver the knockout blow…At the last possible minute he was halted by a yari.

"Hands off the elemental partner slimeball," Cye calmly said, before forcing the demon back.

The Ronin of Halo had moved in behind Torrent's bearer, and now offered a hand to Glacia, "Come on, I'll help you up."

She scowled at the gesture, before Sage rolled his violet eyes and hauled her to her feet. He then proceeded to give her a gentle nudge, "Go see to your teammates, the Seasonals took them out of the direct line of fire."

Seeing Glacia was prepared to argue with the swordsman, Rowen added, "No worries, we've got this."

"Fine," the Senshi conceded taking her leave, and quickly moving out of their way. She caught sight of the Seasonals, her semi-conscious teammates and Elayne, at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Ah Ronin Warriors, feeling better?" Thanos queried, after Cye had shoved him away he had pulled back from the fighting. He had been simply waiting for them to gather so that he could deal with them more effectively.

"Good enough that we can take you out," Kento shot.

Thanos snorted back a laugh, but just barley as he raised an off-white eyebrow, "Oh, really? I'm well aware of you energy levels Hardrock, and if you put them all together it _might _be enough to take out _half_ a General."

"All those in favor of taking this guy out, say I," Rowen muttered lowly so that only his teammates would hear.

"I."

Ryo then eyed the archer, "Have a plan, Ro?"

"Hell no, but this guy is in need of a humility lesson," Strata's bearer cheerfully responded.

_ 'Great, that's reassuring to hear,'_ Ryo thought to himself, instinctively tightening the grip on his katana.

Thanos paused a moment as he surveyed the five young men, he then threw himself back into fighting. The Ronin Warriors stood ready, and engaged him.

* * *

The Elemental Senshi were lucky…The Seasonals and Ronin Elementals had managed to break through the Raikken and help them out. Ryo had asked the Seasonals to get the Senshi out, and Anubis had complied…Knowing very well this had become a personal matter between the Ronin and the ice demon.

So, now the Seasonals stood at the mouth of the tunnel with the Elemental Senshi…Their eyes mainly fixed on the fighting around them, noting that it was starting to slow down.

"Thanks for bailing us out," Nova murmured to the Spring Seasonal.

Anubis gave her a kind smile, "It was not a problem." His eyes quickly swerved back to the fighting, pausing on where Kayura stood but a few feet from him trying to get the mystical objects to do what she asked.

The Inner and Outer Senshi were starting to drop out of the fighting, exhausted and battered…There were not that many Raikken left, but with the rate the Senshi were starting to back off at, there'd be more Raikken then warriors available.

And after watching the Ronin fight with Thanos for fifteen minutes, Anubis had merely confirmed what he was already thinking in his head. Out of everyone else, the Ronin were completely exhausted.

_'We better do something,' _White Blaze rumbled out, _'Or, it'll end here.'_

The black tiger gave a shake of his head, _'There is nothing we can do. But even at that, it will not end here **she **won't let it.'_

* * *

_'Guys_' Cye reached out to the others, _'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, or how any of us can.'_

_ 'He's right, we're still wiped from Inferno,' _the Warrior of Strength remarked in annoyance; he was not enjoying the fact he was losing a fight.

The archer gave a curt nod, dropping back from fighting with Thanos as Sage had stepped in to take over, _'I know that, we know that there's a need to end this quickly. But I have no idea how to do it.'_

_ 'We're really out of options aren't we?' _Sage queried, _'I know Kayura is working on getting us out of here, but we've run out of time.'_

_ 'If we use Inferno again,' _the Ronin Leader commented as he joined the blond in contending with the ice demon. _'We all know what's going to happen…Kayura never needed to state it.'_

_ 'Ya, but if we use it against Icicle, who's going to stop Akemliek?' _Kento commented.

The other four were silent at this…As each knew the answer to the question…If they were gone; no one was going to be able to stop Akemliek according to the Senshi of the Universe, and though for the most part they barely remembered her they doubted very much she was lying. And while the Seasonals might be willing to lend their power to Ryo, the other four were not going to permit their leader to make that sacrifice by himself…Not again.

Thanos gave a snort as he slowly started to draw the Ronin of Wildfire away from the other four, "I'm rather disappointed."

His tone contained a slight taunt one he was certain would get the Ronin, "I was expecting more of a fight than this. I wonder about your guardians though. They don't do a very good job, do they?"

"Why don't you shut up?" Kento bellowed out, not liking the obvious attack on Kayura nor the implied one on Universe, "Seeing as how, up until this point, you were always hiding behind your sister's shadow."

It was definitely the wrong chord to strike.

Thanos disappeared from where he was fighting Ryo, and reappeared next the Ronin of Hardrock, "The comment was not directed to you, but since you felt the need to involve yourself…"

Cye quickly stepped in, blocking the aimed strike, a low growl permeated his throat…Though he made no comment to the demon at all.

The ice demon merely used his free hand to let off a beam of energy at the two…It tore both of them off their feet in an instant, as well as draining them of what little strength they had left.

"Why you," Rowen's eyes narrowed as he notched off an arrow. A hollow chuckle from behind told the Strata Ronin that he had missed his mark. When he found himself on the floor, struggling to get back up, he knew for certain that he had missed.

Sage had managed to pull up enough energy to focus it into his sword he then let loose his surekill on the demon. Though he hit his target dead-on, with the swordsman being deprived of his element for so long and having lost most of his strength to Inferno…It wasn't enough to do any major damage.

The Ronin of Halo was sent careening back into the cavern wall; he bit down a yell and then crumpled to the floor. His eyes were closed, and his breathing labored.

Ryo had been delayed by the few Raikken still about, but he finally managed to finish dealing with them. His blue eyes widened at seeing what had been done in his absence…They then sparked and narrowed, only more so when he heard the ice demon's comment.

"Let that be a lesson to you, when the attention is diverted from you," Thanos calmly said as he walked away from them, "Do not cause it to be transferred back to you."

Already, Thanos had made a fatal error…In doing as he had, he had only served to enrage the Ronin of Wildfire. In his current weakened stated, Inferno easily used the rage and anger building up in the Ronin…It didn't need to be called to affect the bearer of Wildfire.

When Ryo attacked him, the ice demon was momentarily taken a back by Wildfire's renewed efforts to fight him. It wouldn't last much longer though, as Ryo tried to focus his armor's power…Thanos hit him hard, catching him off guard and forcing him to loose his breath.

The ice demon didn't let up, and then all of a sudden pulled back as Ryo went crashing to his knees, commenting, "I give you Ronin Warriors credit, you are true masters of your arts. Especially for humans, and ones as young as you are. However, I regret to inform you that you have _failed_."

The Ronin Leader realized that Thanos had pushed him back to where the other Ronin still lay…Ryo's body was screaming at him, and then some. It couldn't handle this anymore. It didn't want to.

He forced himself to pick back up his swords which he had dropped, and now took up a defensive stance.

* * *

"Kayura," Glacia worriedly commented to the women, wincing as Thanos fought with the Ronin.

One eye opened, "I'm trying, but the staff isn't cooperating. I think it's waiting."

"For what? The Ronin to be pancakes?" Empyrean's exasperation was quite apparent.

Aarde gave a derisive snort, "Didn't Kaosu have this habit of saving the guys at the last minute? Maybe it was actually the staff not letting him do anything until the last minute."

"So, it's waiting for them to be dead before it does anything? Isn't that a little far-fetched," Nova raised an eyebrow.

The Spring Seasonal gave a cough, muttering, "Not really."

"Oh ya that's great," the Senshi of Water and Ice commented, "Nice, very nice."

"We really need to help them," Sailor Moon murmured, the anxiousness in her voice increasing.

Sailor Jupiter rubbed at her leg, almost sure it was broken, "How though, we could barely help ourselves. Mars and Venus are the only ones still capable of fighting, and even the Outer aren't in great shape."

Uranus scoffed, "It's not that bad," She winced and turned her head, as Neptune removed the spearhead from her arm.

"Yeah, sure," Galaxy snorted out, rolling her eyes, she was pretty sure her ankle was twisted.

Saturn was scowling…And then she watched as Thanos beat Ryo back to the others, and started to conjure energy. They'd never survive that kind of hit, not in that shape.

"That's _it_," the smallest of the Senshi resolutely stated, grabbing her glaive; halting when Pluto stopped her.

The Elder Scout shook her head, "You're not supposed to use it, and you know she wouldn't let you. Especially, if she prevented me from stopping time."

"If she were going to do…" Saturn's eyes slightly widened in realization. "Of course, by the agreement she's under…She can only intervene to prevent death, unless otherwise asked."

She turned her head back to the Ronin, when she heard gasps coming from the other Senshi.

Thanos let the energy loose on the Ronin, fully expecting it to hit them…Oh, it hit them all right, and then deflected to the wall behind them.

It was hard to say who was more surprised the ice demon, or Ryo at the fact that his armor had just put up a shield around him. It had been ages since it had done such a thing and slightly turning his head he could see that the other armors had also reacted to protect their wearers.

"Interesting development," the ice demon mused, "Well perhaps I'll just turn my attention to the Senshi." Thanos said this as more of a taunt than anything else, curious to see if the same thing would happen.

Not to his surprise it did…Though the Senshi were definitely shocked, their powers never having reacted like that before. Even the Seasonals and Elemental Senshi had these shields spring up on them. The only ones left without such things were the two tigers and the girl.

_ 'Well I'll be, they actually listened this time around,' _White Blaze let out a low rumbling chuckle.

* * *

"Clever, the source of your powers protects you," Thanos commented, putting his sword away. "But they won't last for very long."

"He's right, we've used our own strength and theirs way too much," Glacia murmured out. "Kayura, can you have us out of here within the next ten minutes?"

The Lady Ancient only offered a shake of her head, she didn't want to elaborate and break the concentration she had so far established…If they made it out of this, she was slamming Kaosu over the head with the shajuko.

The first reason was for not being as helpful as he could have been, second for not bothering to teach her a better transport spell, and thirdly for leaving this worthless shajuko with her.

"Good to know," Sekhmet mused, cracking his neck, saying to the other three, "I guess we'll go after him next. We might not have too much strength left, but we've been through these types of fights a million times over."

Cale gave a nod, "The problem remains if he gets through us quickly, and the others are still here."

"I have an idea, and you're not going to like it," Elayne broke into their conversation, in a quiet tone so as not to let the Elementals overhear. "I told Ryo a while ago that the only thing I was good for was serving as a distraction."

"You're crazy," Dais said to her much louder, "You think the Ronin, or Senshi, or us for that matter-"

"If you have a better suggestion Dais tell me," the girl cut him off before he could blurt it out any louder. "In the end you're the ones needed alive, not me. I can buy you more time than what you have."

"Elayne," Anubis began in a soft tone. "This is risky and dangerous. I think more than you realize."

"I realized long before you did, that all of you coming here was suicide," the girl told him in a calm tone. "You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing. I was put here to help you, so I'm going to help."

The Elementals were fully prepared to argue it with her, and would have, except the girl drew in a sharp breath jumped forward and whirled around just as the cavern wall broke apart.

"Oh why don't you morons give it a rest," Elayne said in complaint, going for her dagger, and withdrawing it. The Raikken were rogue, identifiable by the fact the armor was far more worn, and tarnished. Without being in Akemliek's service, they did not gain his protection…Meaning the passage of time affected them greatly.

The one lunged for her and she managed to side-stepped it, after bringing her tanto up and through where the armor didn't touch. The other was not as easy to get rid of, as it kept evading her offensive actions. Finally the girl slipped into a defensive stance, and when it made its move she quickly dealt with it.

Elayne calmed her breathing, and her eyes widened a little when she realized exactly how far out the demon had put her. Right into…She spun on a dime, slipped back into her stance and held the yoroidoshi at ready, and her hazel-violet eyes locked onto Thanos and staid there.

"You do know how to fight," the ice demon sounded amused, but it faded as he put the emotion aside. "It isn't a wonder Kali had trouble trying to capture you."

The girl gave a snort, "You should've asked the warriors they know I'm more trouble than I'm worth. You guys were really desperate though, weren't you? My existence was practically ignored by Akemliek for ages. Things not going the way you planned?"

Outwardly she was appearing cool and confident. Inwardly, Elayne was trying to come up with some sort of plan to distract him without getting herself maimed and most likely killed. A yoroidoshi was not going to cut it against his blade, and she knew that.

_'Well, at least now they can't tell me not to get involved, I'm kind of standing right here,' _the girl thought dryly to herself.

Thanos scoffed at her, "Akemliek thought it might be beneficial to have you as leverage, that is the only reason my sister even bothered. That and she found you to be an annoying little nuisance."

"Ya, her and everyone in this cavern right now," Elayne said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not here to be liked I was put here to help them out. I have done so, and will continue doing so until I can't anymore."

"Oh is that a challenge?" the ice demon raised both eyebrows and tilted his head at her. "What exactly is going to stand in my way here? You and…?"

A scowl now formed on her face, and acidly came her defiant response, "Me and my bitchy attitude, that's what."

Thanos let out a light chuckle, very amused by the human's display of show, he soon became quite serious, "I don't make it a point of fighting with your type."

"Oh? Your sister did, she seemed to enjoy losing too," the girl knew she was pushing the correct buttons because his eyes narrowed into a hateful stare. "Ah, I struck the right nerve, didn't I?"

"Do you have a death wish?" he growled out in a low tone of voice.

Elayne gave another snort, but no direct answer to that question. Apparently, she thought the answer was rather obvious.

* * *

Ryo had sheathed his swords after realizing that the energy shield around him wasn't going anywhere, nor was it going to let any of his strikes get past. It was protecting him from himself, as much as it was keeping Thanos from getting to him.

To his relief the other four Ronin had been quick to regain consciousness, and eventually they hauled themselves to their feet. The five young men had worriedly listened to the exchange that took place between the Seasonals and Elayne.

Though the girl had tried to keep it initially quiet, with the way the men reacted she had raised her voice as well. Plus the way the sound carried in this cavern had enabled them to hear the entire conversation.

Now, the girl was directly in the line of fire and that thought alone made his blood boil…Partially enraged the others, as there was nothing they could do to stop anything from happening to her.

But…The Ronin of Wildfire let out a sigh, before withdrawing one katana with his left hand. The action did not go unnoticed by the other four, and Rowen spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

"There's no way she can fight him with a tanto," the Ronin Leader answered, calling softly, "Blaze?"

The white tiger had abandoned his spot next to his twin, and padded over to the Ronin some moments ago to check on them.

He turned his head and walked directly in front of the bearer of Wildfire, '_What is it, cub?'_

"Give this to Elayne," Ryo murmured as he kneeled down, not surprised when the shield let the tiger in. He had expected it would do that.

White Blaze gently grasped the hilt of the sword in his teeth and gave a nod, before turning around and bounding off towards where the girl was. The stalemate between her and the ice demon was about to end, and the tiger knew he had better hurry.

"Stop trying to bore holes into my back you guys," Ryo told his teammates rolling his eyes to the ceiling. He didn't even have to turn around and look to know they were doing staring at him.

"Ry, you did not teach her to-" Cye blinked as he thought about it, then sighed, "You did."

"You going to tell me, you kept her training just to the basic self-defense?" now the Ronin of Wildfire turned his head to look at his four friends, he raised one eyebrow. "And, never taught her how to use the weapons you happened to be the best with?"

Needless to say when the four of them simultaneously coughed, and then looked away from him, Ryo could hardly have been stunned. They had just pronounced their guilt quite effectively.

"That's what I figured," he remarked, biting down a chuckle.

* * *

Thanos' patience was starting to wear thin with the girl, and as she made a sharp remark, his sense of thought left him and he moved. His strike advance was blocked by a katana, and his surprise doubled at seeing the white tiger holding the blade.

Blaze gave an irritated growl, before pushing the demon back. Thanos was wary of the creature and held off on making a forward advance. He didn't feel like dealing with claws and teeth right then.

The white tiger focused his attention on Elayne, who looked completely lost and bewildered. "What are you doing?"

He rolled his brown eyes and approached her with the sword in his mouth; he tilted his head up at her, motioning for her to take it.

"Oh." The girl berated herself for having a Serena-moment, and took it from him, "Thanks for bringing this, boy."

_ 'Not a problem, make sure to stab him with it,'_ he gave a grin and bow of his head, before moving out of the way. He knew better than to get in a middle of a fight when he was not really needed.

"Thanks Ryo, owe you one," Elayne called out to him, before turning her attention to Thanos, "Now what were you saying? Something that implied you were going to kill me?"

Thanos narrowed his eyes into a hateful stare, "You have done nothing but provoke. If you wish to fight so be it. At this point, whether you live or die is inconsequential."

"Ah, we agree on something," the girl said in a calm tone. She took up a stance, holding the katana in her left hand.

This was all the confirmation Thanos needed, before he engaged her in combat.

* * *

Thanos was definitely impressed, the Ronin had taught the girl well. It was true he had cut into her a few times now, but they had been relatively minor. She fought well with the katana, especially considering it wasn't made for her…That's also what impressed him.

As the minutes slowly started to play out, the ice demon started to notice something and he found it to be quite odd. Every now and then, she would lose her breath, or wince as though she were in pain.

He had not struck her at all, or done anything to warrant such a reaction, and this fact had him quite perplexed. Just what was going on? Not that he cared for her well-being; he just didn't like curiosities of such a nature.

"Something wrong?" he asked in a bored tone.

Elayne was caught slightly off guard by the question, but managed to recover enough to block his next strike. She then used his momentum against him letting him fall forward.

The girl kicked him hard in the leg, and brought down the sword, but he managed to roll and spring back up. Once more she was forced to go back to the defensive, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. She was thanking her lucky stars, at this point, that the Ronin had caved in to her constant begging when she was little; if they hadn't taught her how to fight and defend herself she would've been dead ages ago. Not to mention the obvious fact that she certainly wouldn't have been able to hold out against Thanos for this long.

The ice demon was not surprised when she made no response, but he thoughtfully frowned when she took in a sharp breath.

Elayne shook her head to clear it, tightening her grip on the katana and bringing it back up, her sword arm having fallen slightly. It was getting harder…She could barely block out the pain.

"You can't possibly be hurting from my attacks, I haven't gotten in enough," Thanos remarked. He was still thinking it over, and then it seemed to click.

"Of course," he finally said, "You're what they call a sensitive."

Thanos pulled back a moment, halted in his fight with her, "You're reacting to their pain, not yours. You can feel it."

The girl's shoulders quaked slightly from her labored breathing, she kept her eyes on the ice demon, not bothering to glance at the others…She already knew they were staring at her, could feel they were startled by the claim and waiting for her to denounce it.

She shouldn't say anything, did she really need to acknowledge his comments, give him that sort of satisfaction? No, there was no point in bothering…But, there were some things she felt the others needed to know, things she should have been able to tell them ages ago, but just couldn't. Now that it had come down to the wire, the girl felt obligated to share something, and Thanos had given her the opening to do that.

"All too well," Elayne finally answered, her breathing now back under control. Her eyes narrowed as she lunged for the demon, then at the last moment she spun and tried to cut him in the side; not to her surprise Thanos was able to block it.

"Everyone assumed I was sent to the United States because Daiki was tired of me, that wasn't true. I'm the one who asked him to send me there. I knew I couldn't be here, I'd have been a distraction to them, but I would have picked up on the battles if I staid."

"Well, you're more intuitive than we thought to give you credit for," the ice demon remarked, not really enthused by her attempts to fight him. He was far more interested in the information she was revealing. "Staying out of the way, to avoid harming both."

She gave a snort, let out a bitter chuckle, "It didn't work on my end, the Elementals can attest to that. I was in so much pain, ended up in the hospital, and the doctors put me into a drug induced coma because they couldn't tell what was wrong. They only knew the fact it was getting worse."

There were widened eyes around the cavern at hearing this, and the Elementals could only exchange worried glances with each other. The girl had told them she never planned on telling the other warriors what had happened, unless she…The thought remained unfinished.

"When Talpa actually pulled off coming into this world in his full form? Began the bridging of both realms?" the girl took a pause, before saying in a disgusted tone of voice, "My heart stopped."

There, she had said it and she so knew how the Ronin were reacting to that without having to look their way. Stunned, and perhaps a bit guilty for not having guessed what had happened.

Elayne struck out with her right leg, once more knocking her opponent off balance, but this time she managed to get in a hit with the katana. Talking while fighting was serving to distract the ice demon, while serving the purpose of buying the others time. The shield's were slowly starting to fade…She needed to hold out for a bit longer.

Thanos, however, was not going to be cooperative. He was starting to tire of this fight now, "So you knew of the danger they were in on a daily basis?"

"Always have, and always will," the girl fired back, slightly gasping when the demon started to fight with more vigor.

* * *

She was running out of time, and she knew it, _'I thought the Senshi broke the seal!'_

_'They did break the seal the Council formed. But, the connection has to be reestablished in order for that power to be usable.'_

_'Crap, I forgot,' _Elayne lamented as she pulled back, Thanos having made a wound in her side, far deeper than any of the previous wounds. She almost went to cover it, but stopped herself. _'Exactly how does such a connection get reestablished, anyway?'_

_ 'Wait a minute,' _the girl's eyes narrowed as she thought it over. _'The Council enacted that seal with light. Meaning in order to fix the connection, darkness has to be used!'_

_ 'Exactly.'_

Elayne's eyes widened as Thanos took a dagger and tried to catch her with it. She managed to get it out of his hands quick enough, and shot out, "Your sister tried that trick. I don't fall for the same one twice."

A few minutes later, and it all ended…The ice demon managed to catch the girl by her throat with his free hand, and slowly lifted her up off the ground. Elayne winced, and instantly knew this was her last shot, she had to provoke him further.

She struggled against him releasing her hold on the katana, and managed to kick him hard in the gut. Thanos let out a slight snarl, and without thinking about it, he let the dark energy enter her small form. The girl issued no scream, as he was practically crushing her windpipe…He then tossed her with a great deal of force, and she slammed into a wall...And, didn't stir.


	27. Chapter 26

A/N: I have been participating in the Ronin Warrior Summer Writing Challenge all this month; and since I just completed Chapter Twenty-Three for Book 4: The Ending of an Era; you guys earn a two chapter update. Enjoy :) Oh and I would love for someone to review after reading either of these chapters. ;) You'll get why.

* * *

**Chapter: Twenty-Six**

* * *

The Ronin of Hardrock had not been anywhere near as shocked to hear Elayne's admission. Kento had always assumed that she had been able to pick up on what had happened. Only because over the years, and with each time they talked about it, she let certain things slip. Things he knew no one else could know.

Yet, even with that knowledge, he was still surprised to hear that she had been hospitalized because of it…Becoming medically dead to the world for a few moments of time, before the doctors were able to revive her.

Kento knew her well, and for her to have waited to say this now…She was only saying it because there was nothing left for her to lose. That thought alone, was enough to scare him.

He turned his attention to the Ronin of Torrent who let out a heavy sigh, "I don't believe it…I just…I don't."

"Neither can I. I knew she was sensitive, but I didn't think it was possible to be _that_ sensitive," the archer admitted. Then again, Rowen had never held too much stock in what he couldn't recognize with one of his five senses and logic. But after dealing with mystical armor for so many years, he kind of had too.

"Probably has something to do with the fact that she was close to us," Ryo said to them quietly. Not saying what he really wanted to say on the matter, he knew better than to do that.

"Is, Ryo," Kento corrected his leader…His eyes narrowed when Thanos cut the girl, "Why that-"

Sage had still been struggling with his breathing; his eyes had been closed throughout Elayne's confession….But they shot open when he heard his four friends swear…And _loudly_.

His violet eyes widened as he watched Thanos throw the girl practically half a cavern away...A second later the shields protecting them faded away completely.

The swordsman of Halo and bearer of Hardrock had already started to move, leaving the other three to gape and then play catch up.

"Oi, Sage! Plan B or C?" Kento queried of the man.

The Ronin of Halo thought it over for half-a-second, "C."

"I'm cool with that," the Warrior of Strength then summoned his weapon, and charged Thanos, preventing the demon from being able to do anything further to the girl. He forcefully shoved, gritting, "You better leave her alone."

Sage came in from the side, and got in a well aimed shot to the ice demon, "Your fight is with us!"

"Hell, if she doesn't manage to bring out their overprotective brother sides," Rowen remarked in amusement, as he notched off an arrow.

Thanos let out an irritated growl, and jumped back, avoiding the projectile completely. He was getting _really _tired of the Ronin jumping in to fight him, it had been amusing before, but now it was starting to aggravate him.

Cye let out a chuckle, having cast a glance to the girl's still form, and recognizing the fact she was, indeed, still breathing, "I happen to think she and Ryo bring that out in all of us."

The Wildfire Ronin rolled his eyes at this, jokingly commenting, "At least I'm good for something."

He carefully picked up the blade that had clattered to the ground, and withdrew the other. His blue eyes burned as he glared at Thanos, saying, "You've gone too far now."

"And you are boring me to death," the ice demon said with a snort. "Why don't you five just _die _already?"

* * *

The Outer Senshi where the closest to where the girl had fallen, and had quickly moved to see if she was all right.

Uranus was ahead of the others, and tentatively called out, "An?" Her eyes went slightly wide when the girl didn't move, "Ah, man-"

Just as she was about to go forward kneel down and try and wake her, a staff was placed in her way.

"Huh?" Uranus turned to look at the Sailor of Saturn with confusion clearly written on her face.

Saturn, on the other hand, was calm if not solemn, "Don't. You can't."

"What are you talking about, Saturn-chan?" Neptune queried with a frown.

The Senshi gave an impatient sigh, "If you wake her up before she is ready, you're going to hurt her."

"Hotaru?" the Guardian of Time's voice was sharp, like it normally got when she was unsettled. A scowl had settled onto her features, "Are you serious?"

Saturn pulled her glaive away from Uranus, who was also staring at her in disbelief, "I am."

"But that's not possible," Galaxy shook her head, argued it. "She can't be, even Queen Serenity said it couldn't be her..." Now the woman paused, asked somewhat helplessly, "How can she?"

Uranus looked back to the unconscious girl, still not wanting to accept the possibility, but starting to wonder, "And if so, why hasn't she-"

"Because she isn't fully awake," Saturn explained quietly. "And she wouldn't have woken up though her life was in danger, like most of the other Senshi did."

"Of course not, it'd be like what happened with you," Neptune murmured out, though she was just as skeptical as Uranus, Pluto, and Galaxy. "She'd only fully awaken if someone else was in danger."

The words no sooner left her mouth when she snapped her attention to the side, watching as Thanos knocked the Wildfire Ronin off his feet having put a good dent in the red armor.

However, when Galaxy let out a sharp intake of breath the Scout of the Deep Seas quickly turned her focus back to where it had been, and let out a gasp in surprise.

"It is _her_," Uranus breathed out, eyes wide in shock.

The girl's body was largely still, her breathing only short bursts…But as each moment passed and Thanos continued to fight the over exhausted Ronin, something started to appear on her forehead. The symbol was faint at first, but slowly was growing in intensity.

* * *

She felt herself waking up, though her body felt as though it had no desire to do such a foolish thing. Both her body and mind ached for some reason, and something felt…Wrong somehow. But what?

She couldn't focus, didn't want to…Then all of a sudden she was seeing a fight, and she couldn't understand why. It just didn't make sense to her.

The reaction couldn't have been avoided for her mind had gone into a temporary state of shock, rendering her unable to recognize anything or anyone.

Three of the five fighters were on the ground, a fourth soon joining them…Before the demon turned his attention to the fifth and practically pummeled him. The Ronin!

In an instant it all clicked back into place she abruptly awoke and then vanished not more than half-a-second later…The Senshi never saw her leave.

* * *

Thanos had wasted no time in getting the Ronin back to a similar position they had been in before…Totally and completely beyond help, with no potential way to survive. And while miracles seemed to keep happening, he doubted very much one was just going to magically spring up now.

Akemliek had, more or less, given him permission to kill one or two of the Ronin…Had made the comment it didn't matter if a few didn't make it after Thanos got through venting.

Now Thanos' eyes drifted in between the Ronin of Halo, and the bearer of Hardrock…He had limited it to them, simply because they had been in such a rush to fight him, and protect the girl.

His current dilemma was which of them needed to go first, and no the Senshi were not going to be able to aide the Ronin as they could barely stand up as it was…The Seasonals and Kayura were too far off.

After weighing his options for no more than half-a-second, he decided Hardrock needed to go first.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you," Thanos offered up in comment as he walked towards the young man scimitar held at an angle already.

Kento was struggling to stay conscious, forget him being able to defend himself. Thanos had managed to smash him in the ribs, and Hardrock's bearer was sure one or two were broken. The lack of adequate breath had immediately started to affect him.

Warrior of Strength he might be, but he was still human. All the fighting had taken it's toll on him just as it had the others, there was nothing more he could do.

"Farewell to a worthy opponent," the ice demon murmured, moving to bring down his sword. A moment of déjà vu overtook him abruptly, as the shadows just to his left sprang up. A second later a foot connected with his stomach, and a fist to his jaw, sending him spiraling backwards.

He landed on his back with a wince, his sword falling out of his grasp and to his side. He let out an annoyed growl, knowing the move, and looking up to throw a vile glare at the person who attacked him. …It just wasn't who he had been expecting.

Elayne now stood protectively in front of Hardrock's bearer; within easy distance of the other four should she need to move. Her eyes were closed, her body in a relaxed fighting stance. There was no need to voice her comment…Get the _hell _away from them.

Silence settled over the cavern, and Thanos got to his feet, warily eyeing the girl as he picked up his sword. Just what was she trying to pull?  
Elayne was quiet for some moments, before saying, "Ryo-tachi Out of everyone, I owe you the biggest apology. There's a lot I should have told you, things you needed to know…I just couldn't say anything. If I had a choice, I swear I would have…But, I never got to make that choice. Perhaps, one day you can forgive me for keeping the secrets from you."

Rowen could only helplessly stare at the back of the girl…A million thoughts were running through his head as he tried to pick apart and piece together what she had just said so that'd make sense. All of a sudden, it hit him and his eyes nearly tripled in size, **_'NO WAY!'_**

"Ouch," Cye moaned out, close enough to smack the archer in the helmet. "I _heard _that, tone it down. What's the matter with you? And, oi Elayne what the hell are you going on about?"

Sage let out a sigh, and gave a soft shake of his head. So, _that _was it then. The one thing she had wanted to tell him, but couldn't…Meaning, his earlier suspicions had now been proven to be correct.

"Mei mei," the Ronin of Hardrock had fought with himself, managed to force his body and mind back into a fully conscious state. He had seen what she had done to Thanos, partially gaped at it. Now? "You have _got _to be kidding!"

The girl offered no response to them, her next comment was for Thanos, as she coolly remarked, "You want to get to the Ronin, it's going to be over _my_ dead body. Go ahead and comment that you can see to that," her eyes snapped open, her face calm, but the look of annoyance fully there. "But this time? You're not getting past me."

"Oh damn," Cye grumbled, having caught on after a few minutes of being coherent, to his comrades' disbelief. "She wasn't joking."

The ice demon fumbled to make a reply, the moment she had opened her eyes he had been stunned by the cold violet which now bore into his skull. The illusion that had added the green and brown was gone.

"Well," Thanos finally remarked, "This is an amusing little development, though I barely believe it."

Elayne gave a snort to this, "I can kick your ass just fine without wearing a mini-skirt." The girl's stance remained relaxed, even though he had now slipped into a more aggressive one. "I don't need to transform."

In one instant she was relaxed, in the next she was already in front of him, slipping to his side bringing up her first and ramming it into his gut. Though he wore armor, he still felt the force of the hit. Thanos was quickly starting to revise his opinion.

Elayne dropped back, once more standing in front of the Ronin. The ice demon was permitted to catch his breath, and that's when he felt it.

He could only stare at her; now for the first time he could sense it…The energy that she had access to.

It wasn't radiating off her form though, it was _leaking_. Little by little the walls forcefully placed on her powers were coming down. The ice demon understood she was not joking, or some stand-in.

His steel gray eyes hardened, the green flecks burning as he moved to fight her, "Well, isn't this a nice little cliché, the innocent turns out to be a warrior."

Elayne let out a chuckle while avoiding his scimitar, "Oh, I've been a lot of things in my live, but never an innocent. Further, Akemliek didn't bother to tell you much about me, did he? I might be a warrior, but I'm not like the others. I was bred for fighting that of assassin work, hardly the noble savior type like they are."

_'Kayura, please tell me you're almost done!' _

The Lady Ancient heard the urgency in Elayne's voice, and exasperation leaked it into her own, _'I'm **trying** the staff still won't respond, it's even ignoring Anubis. We both think it's waiting for something, but who knows what? Blasted temperamental object!' _

_'Waiting still?' _Elayne sighed through her nose, keeping the comment to herself. Really, it shouldn't have been this difficult to get them all out of here. The staff had no reason to keep them there, other than it just didn't feel like it. So, more or less, she was going to have to give it a _reason_ to go.

"Seal gone or not," Thanos gritted out finally, after five minutes of heated fighting, "After the beating you took earlier, you shouldn't be this well off."

"You just don't get it, do you?" the girl shook her head, slipped around him completely. "Almost three quarters of my power were tied into that road block the Council left. Plus, you've had my charges down here for a long time. My powers rely on their strengths, and how united they are in spirit. But, there's a loophole, if they are drained of energy like they are now? Well, let's just say I've gotten a definite power boost."

"Quaint," the ice demon grunted with an eye roll. "That doesn't explain why you are up and moving, and moving this well."

Elayne was getting as tired of this pointless fighting as the ice demon. But, she had needed a reason to carry out her decision, acting on her own wasn't something she could do…Not yet anyway.

The girl withdrew the henshin pen from her back pocket, "Well, if you want an answer to that…Maybe, if I properly introduce myself, it'll make sense. Though I won't pray for a miracle."

She held the ancient ornament in front of her with a light hand; the pen was ivory and showed the scars of earlier fights if one looked close enough. All Elayne did was touch her index finger to the center of the pen, before black flames sprang up around her form and then just as quickly died down.

A small smirk had graced it's way across her face, and Universe's one hand rested lightly on her hip.

She gave a light bow of her head, saying, "I am the Lady Universe, and like the Senshi of Saturn and Pluto, I am a scout of Cursed Fate…The ones that represent the darker side of nature."

The smile left her face as her eyes narrowed and sparked, "I am the Senshi of Pain and Sorrow." Here she cracked her neck, "But a less dramatic way of putting it, is while you and the Raikken might be an advantage due to the energy down here, so am I."

Suddenly her head snapped up, and to the right of her. A low growl permeated her throat, as she had picked up Akemliek's presence coming their way.

_'Time for you all to go, Kayura!' _

The Lady Ancient now opened her eyes and mouth to angrily protest…Nothing ever came of that though.

_'Simoria, override that useless twig and get them out of here, NOW!'_

_ 'Understood and will gladly oblige,'_ the woman responded. A second later the only ones left in the cavern were Thanos and the guardian Senshi, plus the two tigers. They had lingered, waited for her to make her move, and now that she had, they wisely turned around and started to make their way out of Akemliek's domain…They happened to know the way well enough.

* * *

"What's the matter?" Thanos was slightly annoyed that she had encouraged the Lady Ancient to get the warriors out of the line of fire. More so, that the woman had been successful in accomplishing the task this time around. Even though he was annoyed, he was still smart enough to hide it in a taunt, "Don't want them to see you lose?"

"Technically, I already lost once today," the Senshi remarked not rising to the bait at all. "And I learned from Shuu to never lose two fights in one day." She tossed several shards at him, which he dodged with a practiced ease.

"I hate meddlers, especially ones that are supposed to be dead," the ice demon commented as he made move to strike her.

Universe slipped past his sword and punched him in the gut, then did a back-flip and landed away from him, barely avoiding another sword swipe. Her silver fuku was already stained with blood from her earlier injuries, that fighting was slowly starting to affect her now.

Thanos was quick to cover the distance, and then tried to bring his scimitar down on top of her, but she slid around him and quickly tripped him up.

Universe gave a shake of her black-silver head once more, the bitter amusement present in her tone, "Didn't Akemliek, even bother to tell you what I am?"

Thanos looked at her suspiciously, if he had one thing in common with the Ronin it was the fact he hated losing, or even remotely getting put in his place. "Enlighten me, what are you?"

She laughed quietly, it was hollow sounding, "I am a weapon."

"What?" the ice demon quickly picked up his slipping guard, slightly confused by her statement.

The response she gave was one filled with resentment, "I am a weapon, a tool for war. I was taught how to fight, how to bleed, and how to die. Living was something I had to figure out on my own."

"Explains a lot actually," Thanos said with a snort. "Your anti-social behavior for one." This time when he struck he managed to cut into her arm, but she did not even give a wince in acknowledgement.

Universe saw him pull back and scowl, "It's bothering you isn't it? I'm not reacting the way I should, and it's making you anxious. I'll share a little secret with you Thanos. I have tasted death, have seen it occur before my eyes, and truthfully it scares me about as much as you do."

"No wonder Akemliek finds you an intrigue," the ice demon commented, their fighting had not paused or stopped for more than a few brief moments here or there. "You're more of a worthy opponent than all those fools put together, yet you defend them when you shouldn't be doing so. That and the added fact you're an odd being for a human."

The Senshi permitted herself an amused chuckle, but made no return comment. She was currently weighing her options on how to resolve this so she could go and look after her charges, and preferably before Akemliek started to harass them.

_'Aarde said earlier the ceiling in here was unstable, but would only fall if it was directly hit.'_ Her powers were back, that was true, but there was no telling how long it'd take her to use her main attack. Thanos could probably easily get out of the way, and if he did…Well, at least she had an idea on what to do.

The Senshi closed her eyes, the five jewels in her tiara flickered slightly, as she extended her left hand and pulled out the power she needed. A loose breath escaped her lips as the sphere of darkened energy and electricity formed and crackled.

"Chaos Strike," she murmured before tossing the energy at him. It sped quickly to it's target, but not to her surprise he managed to avoid the thing completely…Yeah she had been afraid her power's reaction time was that far off.

Universe quickly directed her gaze to the ceiling, "I had a feeling you'd do that. So," she snapped her hand in the upward direction, causing the energy to shift that way in response.

"You'll kill us both!" Thanos cried out, just before the attack made impact with the cavern's ceiling.

The Scout shook her head snorting out as she avoid the falling shale, "Yeah, and I'm sure there are so many who will _lament_ our loss." She took pause, "But, I don't plan on dying today."

"Neither do I," Thanos growled in irritation, "I'll make sure some of your charges _do_ though."

The Senshi let out an annoyed hiss just as the demon teleported away, she slipped into a shadow and quickly took off after him. He needed to learn when to quit, she figured she was just going to have to _teach_ him.

* * *

"I would _love _to know, what the _hell_ is going on around here!" Glacia gritted out in high agitation. She did not like having her feathers ruffled, and they had definitely been ruffled.

She had scanned the girl the minute they all realized she had the Cimmerian Cyrstal, Nova had too, and even Queen Serenity! The energy had not matched, had never matched, and still didn't match.

"Don't like being wrong do you?" Sekhmet queried with a raised eyebrow. "Is it that big of a deal?"

"Yes!" Aarde then clamped a hand over her best friend's mouth to shut her up, saying, "It shouldn't be possible is what the problem is, her signatures never matched, still don't."

The Ronin Warriors had managed to pick themselves back up enough that they were standing, weapons safely tucked away but within easy reach if they were needed. The five young men exchanged glances with one another, and shrugged.

"The fact that she was putting out a false signature in the past never crossed your minds did it?" Sage finally queried, after five more minutes of heated bickering.

Everyone went dead silent, and then stared at him. Yeah, that pretty much answered his question. Apparently, the Elemental Senshi hadn't thought about it.

Suddenly Ryo snapped his attention to his left, and let out a low growl, "Get lost Akemliek."

Everyone was silent, their attention focused on the being now standing amongst them. All of them tensed at seeing the nearly seven-foot-tall being, with his arms lightly crossed over his chest.

His skin was a pale ivory, his eyes were black at this moment, and his hair was almost pure white.

He seemed rather amused at Ryo's comment, "Nice to see you Rekka. Honestly, I'm quite impressed you all made it out of that alive. It would seem this lifetime has better prepared you. Though, I do wonder if it'll be enough this time?"

Rowen had made a certain observation, and mumbled out, "He's transparent."

"He's projecting his image," the Ronin of Halo's eyes were narrowed as he had been able to detect the energy that went along with such type of a projection.

"Astute of you Tenku, Korin," Akemliek said with a chuckle, grinning when both looked shocked. He let out a snort when all five young men slipped into defensive stances, "Oh calm yourselves, would you? I don't have enough power back to do anything."

"I on the other hand-" Thanos' voice rang out.

Universe appeared from a shadow, and pulled a move she had learned from the Halo Ronin, taking her elbow and ramming it into the ice demon, sending him flying backwards.

"Would be successfully annoying the _hell_ out of me," she finished his statement, teeth gritted. "I told you, you weren't getting past me I meant it."

"Universe," Akemliek greeted biting down a laugh. "Spirited as always."

"Spirited nothing, short fused much," the Senshi said in a growl, glowering at the pair. "I highly suggest calling him off Akemliek, or you're going to be down _two_ ice demons."

"Please, you barely managed to pull off getting the energy, the-" Thanos paused mid sentence when the Ronin armor glowed, and the jewels in the Scout's tiara lit up in response.

She was quick to form the energy they had just given her, and it started to amass in size…Though the pressure it was putting on her hand caused it to start bleeding, "The armors happen to be on my side, and this time? You're not going to be _able_ to dodge."

Akemliek knew the woman well enough to know that she was not playing around. Universe had a habit of meaning what she said, and carrying out whatever plans she made. "You'd best return Thanos."

The ice demon gave a nod as he rubbed his sore jaw, and then vanished.

"Well," Akemliek mused. "I think we should call this battle a draw, don't you? I'm free, technically speaking….I did lose one warrior, and you managed to save those you have charge over. Though, they are quite badly beaten and-"

Universe had a bored expression on her face, as Akemliek spoke. She then sighed through her nose and tossed the energy at the projection causing it to shatter while Akemliek was mid-sentence.

"What?" she knew she was getting stared at. "I'm tired and cranky. I don't want to listen to someone ramble on. _Especially, _when he's been staring at the same four walls for over a thousand years."

The guardian now turned around to face them, a worried frown plaguing her face. The fact that they were perhaps shocked over the latest revelation was the furthest thing on her mind at this point.

To declare them a mess would have been a sore understatement, they were more along the lines of a national disaster. She bit out an irritated sigh, "I wish you guys would _learn_ to listen to me. It'd do wonders for your health."

In a second she had whirled back around, shards already waiting in her palm…Though she would not get the chance to use them.

Queen Serenity was definitely amused by the reaction, "Sorry, we're already dead."

"Too bad," the Scout grumbled under her breath, before willing the power away, and addressing them. "Never Raikken around when I want to vent. Oh well. So, where exactly have you two been?"

The Ancient gave an annoyed sigh, before remarking, "The negative energy managed to disrupt travel and communication. There was no way for us to do anything."

"Ah, so is there something in particular you want?" the Scout sounded unimpressed and impatient. "I would very much like to get my charges back so that they can rest."

Serenity was slightly taken aback by the abruptness and the Scout's attitude, "Well, we'd like your report."

"When it is convenient for you," the monk cut over top of anything else the woman might have been going to say. "And bring your charges to us when _they_ are _ready_."

Here the Senshi permitted herself an inward chuckle, having understood why Kaosu had placed the emphasis on those particular words. She was quick to bow her head in respect, "I will."

The minute the spirits were gone, the next words out of her mouth came, "I _should_ have listened to my parents."

Now she was able to turn her attention back to the warriors, who she could tell were already starting to cave in on themselves. "Let's get you back. I can probably get you to your respective rooms. Think you can manage to fall into your own beds?"

To this she received a couple of grunts and grumbles in response, and she shook her head in belated amusement, before stalking over to where the Lady Ancient was and leveling a seething glare at the shajuko.

"Inanimate object or not, you don't transport my charges, _all of them_, ASAP? I'm breaking you down into _toothpicks,_" she calmly stated.

Kayura was going to laugh at this, but her amusement became surprise when the staff gave an immediate chime, and the scenery around them faded away. They were in the living room at the Shinwako Mansion, or she and the Guardian were.

"I don't believe it," the Lady Ancient murmured blinking in surprise.

"That I threatened the armors into forming shields, the Senshi's powers to do the same, Akemliek that I'd off Thanos, or me threatening the staff?" Universe paused, thinking to add, "And is it also the fact _they_ _all_ listened to me?"

Kayura actually laughed aloud this time, saying with a grin, "Sent everyone to their rooms but me."

"Ah well, I can't have everything," the Senshi lightly shrugged, "Normally my luck sucks, it's a _miracle _that I was able to pull off what I did. At any rate, Kayura, you should get some rest as well."

A small smirk lit Universe's face, "I'll make rounds in about fifteen minutes to make sure nobody hit the floor instead of the bed."

"Well, I'll do that, but first," the Lady Ancient murmured, "I have a feeling I know why the shajuko left me here instead. This," she handed the Senshi the Cimmerian Crystal, "Is yours. I'll speak with you later, Universe."

She willed the staff and her power away, and slowly began ascending the stairs, before adding over her shoulders, "Thank-you. Elayne."

The Guardian Senshi gave a gentle shake of her head in belated amusement.

She let out a sigh as she studied the jewel resting in her palm, murmuring just after Kayura closed the door behind her, "It was definitely closer than what I like, but I managed to get them all out of there alive."

_'Yes, but let us hope they can recover from this. The fighting, and the unwelcome answers they received.'_

"Simoria, if you're trying to lighten the mood, you're failing," Universe groused, "_Miserably._"

_'I think I'll just leave you to yourself.'_

The Scout of the Universe sighed heavily now, placed the jewel around her neck, it immediately becoming part of her choker. She rubbed at the point between her eyebrows, before straightening up. Though the enemy would be tending their own wounds, she would stand guard anyway.

Just like she always had…


	28. Chapter 27 March 1997

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**March 1997  
**

* * *

"It's awfully quiet," Darien murmured as he and Rini walked up to the Shinwako mansion. He had come back almost two weeks ago now, and all that time he had checked the Estate regularly to see if any of the others had come back.

Not a one of them had, though Rini hadn't seemed surprised. She had pointed out that if they had come back, someone would have called like they had _promised_ to do. Well, they had received a phone call late last night from Elayne saying everyone was back.

The Prince of Earth had been ill-at-ease while the others were gone, all too aware of the energy. It had been hard to ignore, and hard to keep himself from worrying over how they were doing.

After he had come back from his trip, he had gone over to the Tsukino house and picked up Rini and the cats, and they had staid at his apartment while the others were away. The child from the future had been lucky to miss out on school this time around, though Darien promised she'd be back in it soon enough.

Especially if things were going to settle down after this point…He could only hope that it would.

Rini gave a nod, "Mm, it is. I hope they're okay."

"Yo," a voice calmly greeted, its owner on the porch a small smirk alighting her features. "I'm surprised you all weren't here within ten minutes last night."

"Elayne," Darien greeted, relieved to see her as well. "You went missing, and freaked a lot of people out."

The girl shook her head, "I told them an emergency came up and that my cell got toasted and not to panic while I was gone."

"They panicked anyway. You left in February, it's March," the prince shook his head, and then paused noticing something. Her eyes…They were different, completely violet instead of the three-tone he was used to.

"Nee-san!" Rini gave a joyful shriek upon noticing this and glomped Elayne, "Yay, you're back!"

The girl blinked in surprise, and then sighed through her nose, "Okay, who _didn't_ know I was Universe?"

Rini giggled, especially when Darien's face took on a look of complete bafflement, "How many others beside I, and Diana do you think?"

"Hotaru, Ryo, the tigers," the girl began to list and then paused. "I think Seiji has been suspecting me of it for a while, just waiting for some sort of hard evidence or something."

"Wow, quite a list," Darien remarked having recovered slightly. Once his initial shock was gone, he didn't happen to have a problem with it.

Elayne raised an eyebrow at him, "You're taking it rather well."

"Why shouldn't I? It makes perfect sense that you'd have a bigger role in this than just the one we thought you had," the Earth's Prince lightly shrugged his shoulders. "It's better that it's you anyway, I know and trust you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dare," the girl chuckled and got back to her feet. "And yeah, I know about how much time has passed. There was a distortion, but it took me a bit to fix it, and plus time passed as we teleported out of there and back here. Come on in, but keep it down for now. The others are still recovering; they've managed enough energy to be awake for thirty minutes before passing back out."

"No one has come down to eat?" Rini sounded completely shocked, "Not even Kento-nii-chan, or Serena?" Her eyes widened when Elayne shook her to signify 'no' they hadn't. "Woah!"

Darien looked to Elayne, "That doesn't sound good, Layne. They took a real beating, didn't they?"

"It's been worse before," the girl pointed out. "And, what do you think?" She sighed heavily through her nose and fingered the jewel around her neck, "Yeah, that and then some."

The three of them entered the house, the three cats easily at their heels before the animals decided to go off elsewhere into the house. They were not needed, and did not feel the need to hang around and listen to a discussion they could easily pick up on from another room.

"Black Blaze!" Rini kept her voice low, but the excitement was still there, she threw her arm's around the tiger's neck and hugged him.

Elayne barely stifled a laugh at the priceless look on Kouken-Oh's face, he turned his golden eyes to her, asking for an explanation, but she merely shook her head. It would be easier for her to fill him in about it later.

"Are you going to try and wake them up?" Darien queried tilting his head at her.

The girl gave a wry grin, "I only tried pestering them about it today, but it's still a no go. They will be getting up though, I didn't cook for nothing."

"Oh, you cooked?" Rini's eyes lit up, Elayne very _rarely_ cooked which was a shame because she had certainly learned tips and tricks from the cooks in each group.

Elayne seemed to know what she was thinking, and chuckled, "Ya there's plenty if you're hungry, munchkin."

"Yay!" Rini hopped over to the kitchen to help herself.

The girl shook her head, and gave a thoughtful roll of her shoulders, "Want to help me set the table? My shoulder is killing me."

"No problem," Darien remarked with a grin.

* * *

Violet eyes flickered over to the old wall-clock, before back to the table in front of her. She set down the last plate of food, and hoped that it would stay warm.

All the while thinking about how tired she was of climbing up the stairs. She shot Darien a quick thank-you, before commenting to the white tiger, "Let's try this again. Coming White Blaze?"

The tiger gulped down the last bit of his food, having woken up not more than twenty minutes ago. He gave a curt nod, and followed on her heels, as she rushed up the stairs.

Elayne paused outside a door, questioning loudly, "Are you awake in there?"

No response was made to the girl, so she settled for banging on the door and shouting, "Get up! I won't say it again!"

She heard a groan from within, probably coming from Lindsay, and someone else muttered, "Go away."

Elayne threw open the door, "HEY! I _MEAN_ it ladies. Unless, you want me to use my Rowen-tactics…"

Amara rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and said while stifling a yawn, "Okay, we're up."

"Bout time," Elayne grumbled under her breath, letting the door slam behind her.

"Elementals? Kayura! Out of bed, come on!" She resumed her pounding on this door, only to receive more moans and groans.

"Give it a rest Layne," she could hear Callie snap in annoyance.

The girl looked at the magnificent tiger, with a truly pitiful _why-me_ look?

He slightly tilted his head, his expression answering her with, _'Don't look at me, you're the one who signed up for the job.'_

She gave a nod, yes, she had, hadn't she? She turned her attention to the door, and shoved it open, "GIRLS! Sometime this year, would be an improvement!"

Kirstin settled for glaring at her friend, instead of throwing a pillow, she found that her body hurt too much.

"We're awake, Elayne," an extremely disgruntled Kayura answered tersely.

The girl rolled her eyes, saying, before letting the door bang close, "That's what you said the last time I was up here."

* * *

Elayne smiled slightly to herself, she was actually enjoying making all this noise, obviously her earlier approaches of quietly moving from room-to-room, and scaring the inhabitants awake hadn't worked. This commotion now would certainly deter anyone, and everyone from falling back asleep.

"Scouts!" The girl barked, having reached their door, "Wake-up!"

"Why?" Rei grumbled in irritation.

At this point in time, the girl's patience was extremely short; she opened the door, "Because I said so. Actually, if you keep sleeping, you're going to miss _another_ meal."

"Food?" Serena sat bolt-up right in her bed, eyes rapidly moving about.

Elayne couldn't help but laugh; that was certainly one thing that hadn't changed about the blonde.

White Blaze had moved on to the next door, waiting patiently for her to catch up.

Elayne shook her head at him, to compensate for a '_why-do-I-bother'? _

The girl stopped, and then resumed her newfound banging ritual, "Anubis, Sekhmet, Dais, Cale! _MOVE IT!_"

She had a bit more progress with this door, mainly since it's inhabits threw objects up against the wall, and swore a bit in ancient Japanese for a response.

The girl knew for a fact that they were awake now, "Ya know, I wouldn't have to scream, if you all would get up when you said you would."

White Blaze chuckled in his own way, and then bounded after the girl as she stalked off to his cub's room.

"_RONIN WARRIORS!_" She practically screeched, making her way over to the door, she pounded on it for about a minute and a half, and then paused.

Not to her surprise, she didn't get a response at all; she gave another shake of her head before opening the door, permitting herself and the tiger to enter.

As she shut it behind her with a soft click, and muttered to the cat, "It'd figure they all would fall back asleep a few times. I doubt anyone remembers the first time I tried to wake them up! And of course, the guys were going to be the hardest ones to try and wake. But this is ridiculous."

White Blaze gave a slight nod, _'You did let them sleep for quite a long time.'_

Elayne shrugged signifying she had no clue why everyone was being so difficult, and walked over flopping down on Cye's bed.

She reached out, and grabbed his shoulders, then slightly shook him, "Cye-chan?"

The Ronin of Torrent groaned, and shut his eyes tighter; hoping that whoever it was would go away.

"Wake-up, Cye!" The girl raised her voice a notch, and shook him harder.

A sea-green eye opened and peered at her, while the voice pleaded, "Five more minutes?"

The girl let out a snigger, "Even with the pitiful face? Nope, sorry."

"Aww," He gave a pout, but sat up regardless a slight smile on his face.

The next target was Kento, and she more or less leapt from one bed to the other, "Gege. Come on, rise and shine!"

The Ronin of Hardrock merely grunted, and rolled over, determined to ignore the voice trying to wake him.

"You have to be hungry by now!" The girl protested, only to receive another grunt in response.

Elayne scrunched up her nose in annoyance, and then a thought came to her on how to wake him up.

She stood up, and began to jump up and down on the bed, all the while hollering, "Kento!"

Cye was immediately overcome with laughter at this display; the Water Ronin started to choke on his laughs, when his best friend's eyes shot open, after the Ronin of Strength had suffered a foot to his gut.

"I'm up!" Kento wheezed, rubbing the spot furiously.

The girl somersaulted of his bed, "It's about time!"

The Ronin of Strength growled at her retreating back, as she sauntered over to the Ronin of Halo.

"Get up Sage!" She cheerfully called out, lightly plopping herself on his bed, "Nii-chan?"

She received no response from the Warrior of Light at all; she gently brushed away the lock of hair that rested over his right eye. The girl knew for a fact that he was awake, but he would not acknowledge her unless she tried to do something drastic.

Both Cye and Kento stared at the scene, and then at each other, not quite sure what to make of any of it.

"Hmm," She thought aloud, an evil smirk dancing across her face, "Now then…What did I do with those scissors?"

Immediately his eyes shot open, as he glared up at her, gritting out, "If you dare…"

Elayne burst into laughter, "How nice of you to join the living."

The swordsman sat up, slowly, as he continued to glare at the girl for having disturbed him. Sometimes she could be such a pain!

The look didn't phase her at all, she merely shrugged, and skipped over to Rowen's bed, landing with a hard thud.

"Ro-chan! Time to get up!" She practically shrieked in his ear.

The Ronin of Strata was out like a light, he made no type of response to her queries at all.

"You better get up," the girl warned, prodding him with her finger.

There was still no movement from the basically dead body in front of her, except for the occasional snore.

"Fine, have it your way," She grabbed the empty cup on his nightstand, let a tiny shard of ice drop into it, permitted it to melt, and then dumped it right in his face.

The archer sprang to life within moments, screeching out, _"LAYNE!"_

In order to avoid his flailing and sputtering form, the girl quickly rolled off the bed, saying happily, "Morning, Ro!"

The other three Ronin were laughing so hard, they were clutching their sides…Rowen meanwhile settled to give her his infamous death-glare. She smiled at him not bothered by his look either; besides, if looks could kill she would've been dead twenty times over by now.

Elayne cautiously approached the last sleeping figure in the room, calling out hesitantly, "Ryo?"

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a groan in response, as he drew the covers tighter around him.

_ 'Oh no he doesn't,' _Elayne thought to herself, poking him, and then calmly stating, "You need to wake up Ryo."

"Says you," he retorted in annoyance, pushing her hand away.

She shook her head; "You never learn…" the girl took a deep breath, then called out, "White Blaze!"

Vivid-blue eyes opened immediately, as their owner shot bolt up-right, grabbing the girl, and clamping a hand over her mouth.

However, it was too late…The damage had been done.

White Blaze was a little disappointed, he had been dying to jump on a sleeping Ryo for quite sometime, but this fact did not cause the tiger to stop in his charge.

As he leapt onto the bed, and nearly half of his cub, Elayne managed to slip out of the Wildfire Ronin's grip.

The girl quickly stood, swiping his covers for good measure, and flashed a triumphant smile at him, "I _so_ warned you."

* * *

She turned around, and glared at the four human-sized lumps in each bed. Since they had been awoken while their heads were out, each Ronin had retreated to the safety of hiding under their covers. Needless to say, Elayne was not impressed.

"_Hey!_" Violet eyes narrowed in aggravation, "You four get out of bed."

"No way!" Came the unanimous response to her demand.

The girl held her tongue; luckily, she had been prepared for this _exact_ thing. She merely walked over, and positioned herself in the aisle way.

Then reached out, and swiftly snatched the covers, casting them to the floor.

"Shesh!" Rowen's hands went to his arms, as he tried to rub out the cold.

"It's like an ice-box in here," Kento's teeth started to chatter.

She smirked to herself, and took one more step forward, and grabbed the remaining covers.

"You're not joking," Sage commented with a heavy shudder.

Cye glared at her in contempt, "Why is it so cold in here?"

The girl lightly shrugged, "We're experiencing abnormally low temperatures?" Here a devilish grin crossed her face, "That and I turned the heat off."

Ryo grinned smugly, not affected by the cold at all; being the bearer of Wildfire sometimes had its perks.

"Before you scold me for using such a dirty tactic," She stated over her shoulder on her way out, "If you had gotten up the first four times I tried, it wouldn't have happened."

The girl paused opening the door now, adding as an after thought, "Mild suggestion, for you though? If you don't like the cold…"

She took a pause, turned around and looked at them with a sweet and innocent smile, "Don't go to bed shirtless. Not that I'm complaining, you guys sure are hott!"

Elayne laughed, and closed the door behind her, very much pleased with the effect of her statement. She had no clue that the five Ronin Warriors could turn such interesting shades of pink and red!

* * *

The girl snatched an apple from the fruit basket, and walked into the living room, practically slumping onto the sofa in exhaustion.

Rini looked up at her, querying in amusement, "So, are they up now?"

Elayne gave a careless shrug, and bit into the apple, swallowed, and replied, "If not, they're getting zapped. I refuse to walk up those stairs one more time."

The small child giggled, "You're so kind!"

"Munch," She paused and took another bite, "I am too exhausted to be nice."

"You spent much of your time keeping watch, didn't you?" Darien asked not surprised when she gave a nod in affirmation.

Before either could make a comment, she murmured, "I can't help it, it's a very old habit." She then hollered over her shoulder, "_Unless_ you want the full-wrath of this Italian-Japanese girl upon you, I'd _highly_ suggest you _all_ get your lazy bums out of those beds and down here on the double!"

Darien and Rini both burst into quiet laughter unable to help themselves…The situation was just too funny for words.

Ten minutes later, the warriors emerged.

"No need to shout," Dais chuckled lightly, stopping on his way to the dinning room, "We're _all_ awake."

Elayne turned her head, watching as the Senshi sat down at the table and letting out an inward sigh of relief at this.

"Rather," Cale smirked ever so slightly, "Most of us are, I have yet to see the other five Ronin."

"I'll zap you before I zap Sage, just to make you aware of that Cale," the girl smiled sweetly, turning her head to look at the four descending figures of the Ronin Elementals.

A smirk now adorned her face, as she let out a cat-call, causing all four to turn a deep shade of red, and jump in place; she more or less cracked up at that.

Sage cleared his throat, choosing to ignore her reaction, "Good morning Elayne."

"Afternoon Nii-chan," She cheerfully responded, finishing the last bit of her apple, and tossed the core into the waste-basket across from her.

"Haha," Rowen rolled his midnight-blue eyes, "Very funny."

"Who said I was trying to be funny?" Elayne asked, raising a dark-eyebrow at him.

Cye snorted back a laugh, until he caught a look at the wall clock. The bearer of Torrent's jaw nearly hit the floor, "You let us _SLEEP_ till 12:30!"

The girl frowned, and did some counting on her fingers, before slowly responding, "No. I let you sleep for three-and-a-half days…Though I wasn't shooting for the half part…You all just refused to wake up."

The warriors all gaped at the teen, and she smirked, "I don't ever want to hear that I am a bad little sister, that doesn't let her beloved older siblings receive adequate rest."

So, their minds were still addled with sleep like she had expected them to be. But, soon enough the fights would start coming to the forefront of their thoughts, the last one in particular.

Then, things would certainly get really interesting. She just didn't have plans on sticking around too much longer after it clicked, because she _needed_ sleep. She had just wanted to make sure she got the warriors awake and food into their systems.

Otherwise, it would be much harder for them to recover from the fight.

Elayne glared up the stairs, shouting, "_Sanada! _You do _not_ want me to come back up those stairs."

"Now Elayne," Callie smirked at the girl, "Don't kill the leader of the Ronins."

She arched her eyebrow, "Had I been permitted to kill him when I wanted to? The guys would've been an armor bearer short when they fought Talpa."

"Didn't you say you weren't going back up the stairs?" Rini queried in a quiet tone, briefly looking up from the new drawing she had just started on.

The girl gave a nod, "Yeah." She waited for the Scouts attention to be focused on their food, before adding in a low tone, "I didn't say I wouldn't teleport myself up there, and kick his lazy carcass out of the bed. Be back."

* * *

"Oi, Ryo!" Elayne snapped, as she appeared in the room, "Unless you want me to yank you out of the bed, I'd get up."

The Ronin of Wildfire opened an eye to glare at her in challenge, "Try it."

The girl walked up next to him, saying flatly, "My pleasure," She gave a sharp tug on his arm, causing him to fall right out of the bed.

"Ouch," He rubbed at his, now, aching head, and pulled himself into a sitting position on the floor.

The girl crouched down beside him, and ruffled his hair, "Sorry, but I've only been trying to wake the house up for the past three hours."

"Are you serious?" the Ronin looked at her, shock written all over his face.

She chuckled at his expression, but decided not to comment on it, "You can get more rest later, but you need to eat something. Otherwise, you'll never heal and it'll take much longer for your strength to come back."

"Ya I know," Ryo grumbled at her.

She rolled her eyes, "Then, quit complaining," and then teleported out of the room.

Ryo's eyes widened a little, before the sleep cleared, and he shook his head, muttering, "Hell, how could you forget _that_?"

* * *

Elayne had teleported herself to the stairwell, and now calmly walked down it.

She then paused to rest against the banister, biting down a very large yawn. The girl gave a nod of acknowledgement to Ryo, who had finally made it to the dining room. The young man simply gave her a grin and wink before taking his seat at the table.

The girl leaned further against the banister, and simply waited…And then waited some more. Hotaru had already given her an acknowledgement, and Sage kept giving her these odd looks as if trying to decide something.

All of a sudden everyone at the table stopped eating, and they _all_ stared at her.

Elayne gave a snort, checked her watch, "Well that only took you guys fifteen minutes. I'm impressed, your timing's actually gotten worse." She rolled her eyes and shook her head stopping the comments before the came, "Aht! Yes, I would be the ever-so-annoying Sailor Universe. Please hold all questions till I am actually awake enough not to be a total and complete bitch. Thanks."

She then started to walk back up the stairs adding over her shoulder, "And just so you know? It is now March, I have spent the better part of the past three days calling your families, whatever friends left messages, and your employers letting them know you are alive, and the issue should be resolved within the next week-and-a-half."

Hotaru could only laugh at this, and Ryo permitted himself a chuckle and shook his head. The others simply stared for a moment, shook their heads, and went back to eating. To hell with it, they'd worry about it later.

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire sat silently, every now and then directing his gaze to the unconscious girl. She had been out for close to thirty-six hours now, and he was starting to worry since she still showed no signs of waking anytime soon.

Ryo sighed, and leaned back in the chair he had pulled up, true he should've been asleep himself, but for some reason he just couldn't.

He glanced at her alarm clock; the digital numbers reflecting that is was now one-o-clock in the morning.

_'Everyone else is still nursing their wounds,' _the Ronin thought wearily, _'And, yet, I feel perfectly fine. I just don't understand it…' _ Here he shifted his gaze to the Jewel of Life, _'Is it really capable of doing that much?'_

He fingered the pendant thoughtfully, a sarcastic smile coming to his lips, _'Bet wearing this piece of jewelry makes me look REAL attractive.'_

"Actually," Elayne groggily muttered out, opening an eye slightly, "It makes you look like you're having **_serious_** _gender_ issues. More so than normal."

The Ronin of Wildfire lightly laughed, "Glad to see you're awake."

She sat up and stretched, her eyes widening upon seeing the time, "You should be asleep!"

"I've slept enough," he was quick to brush her off, "Been sleeping most of the time you have."

The girl studied him curiously, something didn't seem right about this…It came to her immediately there was something on his mind…That had to be it.

"What's wrong?" She queried softly.

Ryo let his eyes drift towards the window, noting the rain that occasional struck against it making soft striking noises.

It took him a few minutes, before he turned back to her, and responded sadly, "You know? I hate this."

For her, it was all too easy to see what was troubling him; the emotions in his face clearly standing out, but she knew better than to say what was on his mind.

She also knew he needed to talk it all out.

"Hate what?" Elayne inquired gently.

The Ronin of Wildfire clenched, and unclenched his fists a few times, trying to put into words what he'd been holding in.

A violent flow of emotions was racing through him, locked away by his usual unwillingness to state what he was feeling…But now, now with everything that had happened in the past few months, he couldn't stay silent any longer.

"I have known for a while, that you were Universe. I just," he let out an anguished sigh. "Part of me still doesn't want to accept it. Doesn't want to accept the fact that the only other family I have left is involved in this mess."

Ryo got to his feet now, his one hand still tightly clenched, "The guys…They've been my brothers for a long time now. Sure, our friendship was rocky at the start, but the more we fought, the closer we became. I can't begin to count the number of times I thought I'd lost one of them, the times I almost did.

Somehow we managed to come out of it in one piece, but there were times when things looked so bleak."

"Mia, and Yuli? Two innocent people, caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Sure, they both got annoying to degrees, but they kept us from getting on each other's last nerve by getting on ours. They pointed out the things in plain site that we missed, just because we were being dumb. At the start the Dynasty was always using those two as bait, then they bored of that game…But, how many times did they get caught that I could have prevented? I was too slow, or too hot-headed to be rational."

Elayne was about to speak, but stopped short, realizing the Ronin leader wasn't quite done yet.

He gave a bitter laugh, it chilled her to the bone, "New York…how can I forget that? The Scouts tried to pry deeper, but we wouldn't let them get that far…Tell them how badly we failed. I had a bad feeling when Sage left for there, but I put it aside. I should have listened to the instincts that never failed me before. What an idiot I was!"

The Ronin of Wildfire was now pacing the room agitatedly; the girl watched him mournfully. Of all the times she wished she could have directly intervened, it had been that one.

She had been there, been in New York at the same time they were…Fully aware that the five were present in the city, but she had been warned about meddling like that. If she did the potential consequences would be worse than the definite ones.

…And it didn't mean she had done nothing, because she had…

Ryo had been silently brooding, and then started up once more, "Sage near died! That fight with his armor left Rowen completely mangled…I don't think Cye did that much damage to me when Dais tricked us into fighting each other."

The Ronin of Wildfire had stopped moving now, the wave of painful emotions within his heart and soul, now fully plagued his features. If the other Ronin had seen this they would have come unglued themselves.

Elayne shook her head, keeping things in was never a good idea; yet, more so in Ryo's case simply because he tended to keep too much hidden for far too long. Her body was still sore and achy, but she pushed it from her mind as she got up and walked over to him.

Ryo looked up, upon feeling her hands on his shoulders; he had let himself get stuck on the memories once more.

"You couldn't have saved Runa; there was nothing to be done. Ryo, it wasn't your fault." It sounded as though she were pleading with him to believe that; her voice soft and full of encouragement at the same time.

Somehow, Ryo wasn't surprised that she knew about that, he finally made direct eye-contact with her, "Everyone I love and care about, either dies, or gets hurt, and it always ties into the fact that I am a Ronin Warrior. I just…" He closed his eyes tightly, before opening them again, "I just didn't want you to fall into that category, too."

Elayne did the only thing she really could do, she hugged him. Laying her head on his shoulder, she said, "You are silly, sometimes. I chose my destiny long before you did, Ryo. I get hurt cause I am a Scout, and to top it off, I just had to be smart enough to place myself in-between you guys and Akemliek. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you're a Ronin Warrior. Heck, I didn't even know you when I made the choice I did."

Ryo managed a chuckle, "That wasn't my point."

She let a smile cross her lips, "I know."

More seriously, she added, "However, you cannot save everyone. Thousands of people die every day Ryo; it's the circle of life, people die, and people are born; you can't change that. Your job is to keep abnormal evil at bay, beings like Talpa and Akemliek that this world just couldn't handle. It's your job to keep them from destroying the place you call home, and those you hold dear."

"And your job?" The Ronin murmured, still holding her.

"Ah, my job is to keep your ninja hide out of trouble," was the cheerful response from the girl.

He chuckled again; he was starting to calm down now, "It's good to hear you say that again, Uni."

Elayne consented to rolling her eyes, "What is it with you and getting your memories back before everybody else? You seem to enjoy making that a habit."

"Ya, well I never listen to anyone but my conscious. And he was right." Ryo shot at her, in defiance.

"For one time, yeah," she laughed, and then smirked though she knew he couldn't see it.

"HEY!"

"What did I say this time?" There was no denying the mischief in her voice, as she continued to antagonize the Ronin leader.

"Layne, it's too early for this," He groaned out.

"Not my fault you are awake still. I could knock you out if you want."

"No thanks," the Wildfire Ronin mumbled, finding she had offered it up far too quickly.

* * *

A couple of minutes elapsed where neither said a word; Elayne broke it, though, "Yo, Ryo? You plan to let me go, anytime soon?"

"No," He grumbled in annoyance, and then added after waking up slightly, "Unless you really want me to."

"Look here you; if it's too early for me to pick on you, then it's too early for you to be flirting with me."

"Who said I was flirting?" Ryo whispered into her ear, quickly releasing her, a smirk framing his face.

The girl was not in the least bit impressed, as she flatly told him, "Go ask Sage for better pick-up lines."

"I would, but he'd come up with real smart ones, knowing who I'd use them on." The bearer of Wildfire laughed softly, offering her an innocent grin.

"Why am I being left out of this loop? Everyone keeps saying that I'm 'your girl', 'your type', blah and blah. Wake up! I _can't_ stand you! Boy, no one seems to get, _THAT_ relationship would last _REAL_ long, like five minutes at the most."

Ryo chortled, unable to help himself, "Self-denial."

"I'll give _YOU_ self-denial, Hot Shot! **SHOVE OFF**!" Elayne had opened her bedroom door some minutes before; she now quickly pushed a laughing Ryo out; slamming the door after doing so.

"Stupid Ronin Warriors and Sailor Scouts!" She spat out angrily, before crawling back under the safety of her covers, burying her head under the pillows.

Black Blaze was on the other side of the bed, and started snickering having caught the entire scene. He couldn't wait to tell White Blaze, what a howl he would get out of it!

His grunts became louder as he began to laugh harder, and then the black struggled to make himself stop, as he was in need of air.

The girl felt around for her extra pillow, once having a secure grip, she aimlessly threw it over her shoulder… It ended up hitting the black tiger right in between his eyes, with a satisfying _'thwack'_ sound.

* * *

_A/N: Yes, I know the name she has in the Japanese version is 'Luna'; and I also get the Japanese 'l' sounds like our 'r' and that's why she's called 'Runa'. Either way since this is a RW/SM crossover I didn't want readers getting Runa confused with SM's Luna. And yay for cute moments between Elayne and Ryo, that end with her completely ruining the 'mood' xD  
_


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

**_March 1997_**

**_

* * *

  
_**

The next two days seemed to pass by in a relative blur, but by that Friday all the warriors had finally managed to wake up at a normal time. For the most part they were still suffering from exhaustion, but the soreness in their limbs was finally starting to receede.

All of them were taking it easy, trying to take full advantage of the time they had to rest and recuperate. The Seasonals, on the other hand, were being exceptions to the rule.

They had resumed training sessions the day before. The men were far too used to such strenuous battles to be so horribly affected by them, that and the fact they had a few centuries on most of the others.

Kayura hadn't seemed to care much about either fact, as she had easily remarked to Ryo that the four of them were _completely_ insane and it was probably why Talpa had gone after them in the first place. Insane people liked being around other maniacs.

The Ronin of Wildfire had chuckled at that, but nothing more. His thoughts had been largely elsewhere.

Elayne had yet to reemerge from where she had sequestered herself in her room…After his exceedingly early morning visit which had gotten him thrown out, she had locked the door.

Anytime someone went to knock, they got no response from the inhabitant they knew had to be in there. Black Blaze would get let out of the room and then back in…But, other than that Elayne was not venturing past the door.

This had he and the other Ronin concerned, while the other four were still largely unsure about "Universe" they were worried about Elayne. The Inner and Elemental Senshi seemed irked and figured the girl was purposely keeping them waiting.

The Outer Senshi didn't seem to be bothered at all, Lindsay was definitely annoyed, but the other four were not. Amara had actually waved off the younger Senshi's complaints.

She calmly told them that Elayne would wake up and deal with them when she felt the timing was appropriate. Until then, they were just going to have to wait.

So, when the Ronin Leader and other four men walked back into the house after having gone out for a brief walk…Imagine their surprise when Elayne was sitting on the couch in conversation with the Outer Senshi.

The black tiger lay curled up at her feet, seemingly asleep. Yet, his ears swerved back and forth signifying the fact he was indeed awake.

Amara had her back to the Ronin, but she knew they were there. She continued on with her talk, "I still can't believe you were right under our noses the whole time. But, you always were too clever for our own good."

Elayne grimaced, voice strained, "Haruka, please. I'm by no means proud of what I had to do nor the means I did it with." She took pause, now speaking with conviction, "But, I'd do it again if I had to."

"Always were a bit of a noble sort," Michelle teased.

The girl derisively snorted to this, but directed her attention to the Ronin Warriors, "Feeling better?"

"We're all fine," Ryo answered with a smile, quick to ask, "You?" He could sense his friends uncertainty, knew they were uncomfortable and unsure of themselves.

"Oh dandy," Elayne chuckled out, remarking in amusement, "You all keep it up, and you really _will_ be the death of me one of these days."

Ryo grinned wryly, before flopping down in the chair, "Time for another group pow-wow I take it?"

The girl gave a nod, her attention shifting to the stairwell as the Inner Senshi were in the midst of walking down it. Kayura and the Seasonal armor bearers came in from outside, having received the girl's brief mental message.

The Elemental Senshi came up from the basement, though they overall looked displeased. Darien and Rini were already in the room, simply waiting for this all to take place.

Kento took the floor…A million things running through his head. His mind just did not want to accept the fact that _his_ mei mei was a Senshi, and one of the oldest ones at that.

The Ronin of Strata was just trying to figure out how he could have missed the clues, because he was certain she had dropped plenty of hints that he had just failed to get at the time.

For Cye, he wasn't quite so apprehensive about the new tidbit of information. It actually made sense to him. As the Ronin of Trust he had always been able to sense when there was more to a person, or a situation. He had always felt that there was more to Elayne, and now it made sense to him why.

Sage was probably the only one not giving her strong enough emotions for her to read off of. It was just as well, she had already grit her teeth together in aggravation at the current swirls of emotion.

The white tiger had been a room away but quickly padded over, and rested his head on her knee. Effectively drawing her out and away from the emotions…When she was tired like this, it was hard for her not to get taken in.

"Thanks boy," Elayne breathed out, as she stroked his head.

_'Not an issue. If you want me to eat one, just say the word,'_ the tiger let out a chuckle before laying down next to the black one. As if in warning, White Blaze sent a look to those warriors he could see, before putting his head down on his paws and closing his eyes.

"I have no excuses to offer you, nor will I make up any to give," a frown tugged at the corner's of her mouth. "There is a misconception that I need to clear up, I was _never_ placed into this lifetime I've always been a part of it. I just didn't happen to exist _like this._"

Elayne tried placing emphasis on those words in the hope they'd be able to stay with her while she tried to explain it all, "Last time, and I'll say this now I've been through this lifetime you're living more than just once, I only existed as Universe, and was completely subject to the restrictions. The Elders had to let you find one another on your own, and suffice it to say you were anything but trusting. Not that I could blame you for it, but the doubts cost far too much later."

"All right, so far I'm with you on this," the blue-haired archer spoke up, and he queried, "So what happened?"

"I didn't know what to do," Elayne let out a strangled sigh and leaned back into the couch. "My main concern has always been for your safety and well-being nothing more than that; it's why I barely listen to the Elders. I wanted to do something to make sure you'd get through things, but what could I do? My powers were effectively tied up into the shield the Council left in Akemliek's domain, I'd been fighting with the little Senshi power I had and by the time you really needed my aide I was _useless_. Not to mention the fact I was completely invisible to you."

Her eyes were half-lidded now as she spoke, "It was just after Serenity died, and the Senshi were sent forward in time, that Neo showed up. Needless to say, I was surprised to see her. Messing with time directly is something I would never do just because the consequences tend to be worse than the original end result. But, she was desperate and knew I was starting to get there."

Ryo frowned at this, tilted his head a moment, "She went that far back in time?"

Elayne gave a nod, sighing out, "She knew I wasn't on my first or second time through this life, and she had been through it more times than I had. Neo had been unable to prevent certain things from happening, which she knew contributed to the failure in the future. The problem, she told me, was the fact there was no way to get you all to trust each other within the correct time period. The gap between you was just too wide, and you'd all been fighting for so long it was natural for you to distrust newcomers even if they were friends once upon a time."

"Basically, it was your idea to do this, and then again it wasn't?" the Ronin of Torrent queried, still trying to understand most of what she was saying.

The girl gave a vigorous shake of her head, "Understand something, Neo and I are alike only in name and purpose, all our similarities end there. The passage of time and fights has made her cold and bitter, and exceedingly callous. But yes, it was her idea that I revoke use of my Senshi powers, and exist in my non-Scout form. She'd use the crystal to lock my memories, that way the Elders could not accuse me of directly interfering. I was anything but thrilled at her proposition."

"First off, even if I had no knowledge of it, it meant intentionally lying to all of you. My main problem was the fact I'd have to use the part of my personality that I kept buried and permit it to take up point."

The comment didn't make sense to all of them, but Sage understood it all _too_ well, "As a warrior you were to be neutral when it came to emotion, and free from almost all emotion. To suddenly lose what had been schooled into you, and what you had practiced for so long…It makes sense you'd be apprehensive."

"It's just as well I let her talk me into it. She didn't do it right away, she waited until she was sure the Raikken weren't going to try and interfere anymore than they already had. After we were both confident they were done, I let her put her plan to work." Elayne opened her eyes now, the even violet suggesting she was calmer than what she felt. "Now, I'm back to having just one personality, a blending of the two."

The girl suddenly turned her attention to the Elemental Senshi, saying, "As for your questions of how I was still alive…The building did fall on me, but I managed to make it out by the skin of my teeth. And as to why my signature now, didn't match the one I had back then…" She grinned, "Sage was right, that was never my real one. I did it back then to mask my presence from the Raikken, they've never had a great love for me. Most times it worked others…Not so well."

Kento finally managed to gather enough will-power to ask the question he was dreading an answer to, "How long have you known?"

"Late November," the girl briefly grimaced before schooling her face so that it showed nothing, "The crystal panicked at Ryo's predicament and partially awoke me."

"Whom, seeing as how we're all sitting here and one good confession deserves another," Ryo cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him now, "Has had his memories back since he woke up from the coma that went along with that lovely little incident."

"Wha?" his four friends cried and stared at him. The looks of disbelief soon gave way to annoyed scowls.

The Ronin Leader let out a chuckle, "What? I couldn't say anything, otherwise it'd cause damage or something like that I was told. But, seeing as how we made it out of Akemliek's Domain, and Uni kindly set herself up in front of the firing squad? I figured now was as good a time as any."

"Ryo," Strata's bearer began in irritation.

"Did the right thing," Elayne cut him off, adding a glare for measure. She then got to her feet, and both tigers immediately got up as well. "Revealing such knowledge is dangerous, it could trigger your own memories, and nothing is worse than remembering a past life before you are ready. Normal humans aren't supposed to remember past lives at all, it's too hazardous; you all barely manage to get by without having the consequences they would experience."

The girl sighed then, murmured, "I'm afraid that if you have any more questions, which I know you do, I can't answer them. It's the Elders place to tell you things; not mine. I just had to explain myself; I don't want, or need, you to struggle with questions concerning me or my fate. They're inconsequential."

"So, you can't tell us anything else?" Vanessa queried with a raised eyebrow.

_'You and I,'_ the Ronin of Hardrock told her mentally. _'Are going to need to have a talk about the "I-don-t-matter" statements, later; got me?'_

_'If there is a later,' _the girl mumbled in reply, before saying aloud, "Not unless they tell me too, or unless they give jurisdiction of me over to you. There are some rules I simply can't get around. They want me to bring you to them, for what reason I can only guess and roll my eyes at if it is what I think it is."

"Seeing as how we're all awake, and it's been quite a while since they said that to you, perhaps it would be prudent for us to go now?" Dais offered.

There was a round of nods, and a few yeses went up as well to the comment.

* * *

"I'll take you, but you have a choice you need to make first," Elayne said calmly. "It is something you will have to decide for yourselves, no one can help you with it."

Serena looked totally and completely perplexed, she wasn't the only one dumbfounded though, "That would be what exactly?"

"You can either come with me to the Elders, or you can leave here and never be involved with such matters again."

"What?!" the outcry came from many of the warriors, while most simply stared at her in shock.

Elayne was quick to elaborate, "If you go with me to the Elders, you will be officially accepting your past, and subsequently your future." She looked to each warrior as she continued to speak, "Or you can walk away, now. No more demons, no more wars…None of it. You can go back to living normal lives."

"Universe, you can't," the Senshi of Pluto's voice contained an underlying note of fear. It was the first time she had spoken, and also the first she had addressed the woman by title. Trista was all too aware of what she was proposing, and also aware of the consequences to her person for doing this.

"I can, and I will," violet eyes calmly gazed at her, the tone of voice even. "I told Kaosu the last time if I could find a way to get _any_ of you out of this, then I'd find it and offer it up. I've found a loophole. You were permitted to choose, Setsuna, they've more than earned the same right. And the offer applies to you as well."

"I won't take it, thank-you regardless," the Time Guardian remarked, adding, "Then, you'd best tell them _all_ the details."

"I had planned to," the girl replied, then turned her attention back to the others, "In essence, none of this will have happened. Your existence in the prior lives will be erased, as well as this one."

"You'll go on living your life without your tie to your element, and without the friends you have made because of what you are. The only thing that will be the same is any family you may have. This conversation will be the only thing you remember, and it will be easily pegged as a dream and soon forgotten."

Now Trista gave a scowl that was what she had figured on. Elayne would not tell the others about the danger to her own being. But, she shouldn't have been surprised Universe always did things like that.

"Who's going to fight Akemliek?" Michelle queried, seeing a potential flaw in this plan. "And who is going to be here to stop an outside threat from helping him, or wreaking havoc?"

"Who ever may be left? And if no one stays me?" Elayne gave a careless shrug of her shoulders, and then soon regretted it having disturbed her sore one, "I'm sure I'll think of something."

"You're insane!" Sekhmet declared abruptly…Yeah, that was saying a lot coming from him.

Cale gave a slight nod, "Offer this up, and not have a back-up plan?"

The girl gave them a bored look, flatly replying, "I do have a plan; it's just not open for discussion."

Anubis chuckled rather glad to know for certain that Elayne was still very much the same, and that the only real difference in her was her power and knowledge.

True he was just as surprised as everyone else that she could offer them something like this. He wondered just what had driven her to this point, there had to be something specific, didn't there?

"Why…Why are you doing this?" Cye finally managed to gather up his wits and ask the question, though his voice was whisper-like.

"I'm tired of it, Shin," She muttered coldly, then said as impassively as possible, "I'm sick and tired of seeing good, kind-hearted people, forced into a war that they should've never been forced into in the first place! I'm weary of witnessing the same things happen over and over. What was forced upon you had no right to be, and nobody in a higher position other than Kaosu is willing to admit to it…"

The girl paused, having begun to walk to the front door, "But I am. Since no one could be bothered to offer any of you a choice, I am. It's the least you all deserve, and the very least I can do."

"Just like that? We can choose to leave, there has to be a catch somewhere!" Mina protested, though she may play the ditzy blonde, anyone with a grain of common sense could figure out there _HAD_ to be a catch.

"That will be my problem to deal with, when the time comes," Elayne reached out and put her hand on the door knob, "Your decision will never be known to anyone but myself after it is announced. Your involvement in any and all of the past will be permanently erased, and few will remember this discussion."

She pulled open the door, adding as an afterthought, and a bit of sadness slipped into her voice without her meaning for it too, "Don't worry, the enemy won't find out either, I'll commit seppuku before I dare permit anything to slip. I'll be waiting for your choice."

With that she left the house, Black Blaze once more on her heels…And the white tiger was not more than a step behind the black one.

It took not even two minutes for Trista to be up from her seat and three-thirds of the way to the door, before Amara called out to her; "Where are you going?"

The Senshi of Pluto didn't stop in her walk, "She is right. You must make the choice on your own; I cannot sway you in either direction. I currently need to have a talk with a certain Senshi and see where the _hell_ her common sense ran off too."

* * *

Lita winced as the door slammed, she then frowned, "I don't believe she just put that choice right in our laps…"

"Neither do I," Kayura whole-heartedly agreed, "Messing with time is a serious affair."

Dais gave a slight nod, "It does explain why Trista was after her like that. Being the Time Guardian, that obviously ruffled a few feathers."

"Why would she…?" It made no sense to the Senshi of Saturn at all, and she stopped the sentence mid-thought. No, Hotaru knew immediately why her nee-sama would give them this chance…She wasn't the only one.

Aurora gave a shake of her platinum blonde head, "Guilt. Even after all this time, she still feels guilty for not being able to complete her original task."

"That," Callista muttered out, "And guilt for letting us get involved, even when our own families did nothing to prevent it. I guess she does feel responsible for all of it."

An eerie silence settled over the room for the next ten minutes, but the Ronin of Wildfire had long ago gotten to his feet.

He had made up his mind the minute the offer had been announced; he was only waiting to watch his friends' faces to see if he could tell what they were thinking.

Unfortunately, their faces revealed nothing and his head still ached too much to try and read them mentally, so he walked over to the front door.

"Ryo?" Rowen eyed his leader warily; unsure of what the ebony-haired young man was up to.

"Sorry, you have to figure it out on your own," he gave a sad shake of his head, and left.

The four Ronin were up and out the door within the mere span of a few seconds, they weren't going to let their leader off that easily.

* * *

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Kento grumbled in annoyance, causing his leader to turn around.

Ryo scratched at the base of his neck, sheepishly inquiring, "What?"

"Oh, I'll 'what' you mate," Cye glared, eyes narrowed in irritation, "You didn't even think it over for five minutes!"

"There's a problem with that?" The Wildfire Ronin casually inquired, noting the now sulking form of Trista; _'Guess Layne told her off.'_

The elder Scout was sitting on the porch railing not more than fifteen feet away from them, seething in silent rage. She had not liked the response she had gotten out of Elayne at all.

"I get the feeling you made the choice long before the question came up," the Ronin of Strata stated calmly.

Ryo was vaguely aware of the rain that now pattered against the porch roof, as it softly fell down; and then in mild surprise watched as it came down in sheets, "Maybe I did."

"Still bothered about being sworn to secrecy, with your memories and all?" The blond swordsman inquired, turning back to look at the others…He had been searching for the girl, but saw no trace of her.

"Yeah," a smile soon played across his lips, "Would you have preferred the universe being thrown into upheaval, or something equally that bad?"

An uncomfortable silence quickly settled over the five young men, and they all merely stared at the rain. None were quite sure where to go from here.

"So…" Kento began hesitantly, he, Rowen, Sage and Cye had all come to their decisions just a few minutes before Ryo had left, "You're staying?"

"Even if I didn't know the past, I'd still stay," he stopped watching the rain, and looked his companions in the face as he spoke. "Let's face it guys, this is all I've ever really known…All I've got left. It makes more sense for me to stay; besides I've seen this half-way through might as well finish.

Cye started chuckling, a small smirk adorning his face, "You just want to stay with _her_."

"Excuse me?" the Wildfire Ronin inquired, upturning an eye-brow.

Sage gave a smug grin, "He means you want to stay just so you can be with Elayne."

Ryo glared at them while they snickered, and he thought it over for the briefest of moments…Wouldn't it slay them if he…'O_h hell, why not?' _

He put on one of his most normal faces possible, coolly stating, "Hey, you never know."

All four men stared at the person they had known for practically all their lives, with wide-eyes and open mouths, while Ryo beamed an award winning _'I-so-got-you' _grin at them.

Rowen managed to come out of his sulking mood the first, "Well at least we know you're staying."

"Hn?" Ryo had long ago turned his gloating gaze elsewhere; he now turned back around to face his friends.

The Ronin of Torrent shook his head, suppressing a chuckle, "You weren't even going to ask about the choice we had made? Were you?"

"No; I do want to know," the Wildfire Ronin murmured, "But, it isn't my place to ask, it's your personal business. I have no right…"

Sage waved the man off, "That hasn't stopped you before. If you really want to know, we're in this for the long haul."

Kento happily nodded in agreement, "She can't get rid of us that easily."

"But…" Ryo began softly, a tad confused, they had decided almost as quickly as he had! "What about…"

"Our families?" Cye shook his head, and outright laughed that time, "Mate, right here's all the family I need. Sides someone has to look out for you."

"And give you dating tips," Rowen offered with a wink, the archer then became somber, "I'll tell you…If she had presented this to us during our first war with Talpa, I'd have taken the offer. But after all we've been through together? There's no way I'd trade any of it, not a day."

"Here here!" The other three voiced, with plenty of gusto.

"Oh joy, Ronins in stereo," Cale mumbled under his breath, having slipped out from a shadow.

Sage chuckled, giving a soft shake of his head, "I take it you five are staying as well?"

"Bravo Halo," Dais commented dryly, "How obvious was it?"

Cye gave the white-haired man a warning glance, just because the Summer Seasonal had managed to break-up most of the fighting between his groups, and sometimes theirs', didn't mean he could reverse rolls now.

Kayura gave a small sigh, "We have no lives, so we wouldn't gain anything. Besides who would watch the Nether Realm?"

"That's something she overlooked," the Ronin of Strata noted, after giving it a minute's thought.

"Oh no," came Trista's dry voice, the first time she had spoken at all, acknowledging she knew people were near her, "Trust me, she has everything worked out, and I mean _everything_."

The Senshi of Pluto, slipped off the railing to look at the people she was trying to speak too, "Granted, she's absolutely out of her mind for offering such a thing, but she's smart enough to have all the aspects covered. It makes me wonder if she wasn't planning this while she was back on the Moon Kingdom."

"You certainly don't seem happy about any of this," Sekhmet commented calmly.

The woman rolled her eyes, "I guard time, and only have the power to stop it, and it is forbidden for me to do so. She can modify time, due to powers the Cimmerian Crystal allows her. The Council only permitted her the chance to move time forward, but Universe can move it back and interfere in it. She will be breaking at least fifty rules by carrying out what she proposed."

"Fifty?" Aurora stepped outside, the rest of her team on her heels, "Is that all? You make that sound like a big deal. After all, I think you put all of us Senshi together and we've broken at least four times that many rules in one sitting."

Trista let out a chuckle, "Point taken; did you make up your minds?"

"Pah, we didn't even think about it," Vanessa gave a bored yawn, "We were just waiting for the others to decide. Serena finally managed to coax an answer out of her group."

"She and Darien didn't give much thought to the matter either," Kirstin brought in quietly, "After all, if they don't stick together we won't have little Rini anymore."

Kayura let out a small gasp, "I almost forgot about her! Where is she, I haven't seen her at all since noon."

"In our room with Diana," Rei answered with a slight stretch, "She just came down, seems she caught Layne in the stair well…"

"And Elayne asked her to stay put for thirty minutes," Lindsay finished, and gave a roll of her silver-eyes, "The twit had it planned down to the last second."

"Shut-up Lindsay," everyone stated in exasperation, and they quickly tuned out the young woman.

* * *

Elayne briefly glanced up upon hearing the low growl coming from the black tiger at her side.

"You have to give them time Kokuen," she murmured softly, leaning further back against the tree that was supporting her weight.

The tiger grumbled back at her,_ 'After Trista trying to grill you like that, I'm surprised you're acting so calm.'_

The girl chuckled, "It's a practiced calm, I'm peeved, but it's not anything worth losing sleep over. Have patience my friend."

Black Blaze emitted another rumble, trying to lighten the atmosphere, _'Not like it could get any worse, ne?'_

The skies above suddenly opened, the rain was soft at first and then it came crashing down quicker than a swirling ocean wave.

_'Me and my big mouth,' _the tiger huffed in annoyance.

White Blaze allowed himself a quiet chuckle as he continued to lay down on the girl's other side. He bit down a yawn and closed his eyes permitting himself to relax.

The girl merely shook her head, and stifled a giggle, leaning back further to enjoy the rain, while she continued to wait for the others.

She vaguely heard the Ronins meander out onto the porch, and closed her eyes then blocked out the sound of their voices, so that she wouldn't hear their discussion.

She wanted to hear their decision when they were ready to give it; though she was sure she knew how it would end, but there was no harm in respecting people's privacies.

The rain was coming down hard but she didn't care too much about that. The water was helping to ease the massive pain that had settled into her shoulder, and the pain had been unbearable for the last few hours.

It was starting to fade to a dull throbbing instead of the sharp knife-piercing aches, and the crystal glowed as it started to heal what the rain had cooled off.

* * *

"Umm, where is she?" Mina asked, in confusion.

Silence had quickly enveloped the porch, the only thing that could be heard was the rain as it delicately pattered against the roof.

For five minutes since the last person's emergence, they had been trying to figure out what to do…Rather find out where the girl had disappeared to.

"I don't know," Cye mumbled, hands in his pockets, "Impossible to sense her now."

Michelle tore her eyes away from the forest line; she'd been scanning though it was hard to see through the wall of rain, "You don't think she's out in this, do you?"

A scowl had fully woven its way onto the Ronin of Wildfire's face, as he quickly stalked off the porch; the only word anyone was able to discern from him was 'idiot.'

"Does that answer your question?" Anubis asked in amusement, before one and all took a deep breath and dashed off the porch.

Elayne bit back a laugh, though her eyes were still comfortably close, she could hear the others running, slipping, and some of them falling in the slick grass.

Her shoulder was now fully healed, and of that she was ever grateful; she couldn't be a very good body guard if she was incapacitated now could she?

A small smile was on her face, as she was also very aware of Ryo cursing her under his breath, and catching from the others several complaints that the water falling was cold.

The girl let out a sigh, and all of a sudden the rain stopped abruptly, leaving everyone stunned into an unbreakable silence.

Quiet had settled for a mere ten minutes, when she broke it; "I assume you have made your decisions, then?"

Ryo was prepared to start off on an angry tirade when she spoke up; he looked to the others and then back to her, noting her eyes were still closed, "We have."

"And?" She prodded, opening her eyes, albeit reluctantly.

"Its unanimous," Kayura brought in cheerfully, "We're all staying."

The girl shook her head, and hid a smile, "You all happen to be frighteningly predictable. However, there is something you need to understand," though she doubted very much it would change their opinions. "After this point there is no turning back, I can't get you out of this if you change your minds."

She looked at them as she spoke, "I can only offer this now, because time is practically at a standstill unsure of what to do. I can't remove you from the time-line after this point because it'll do more harm to you than good. Do you understand?"

"Yes," each warrior answered calmly and clearly.

"Very well," Elayne murmured, asking, "And your decision remains the same?" She got another round of 'yes' in response to that. With a sigh she withdrew her transformation pendent, "Come and get your answers, minna. All I ask is that you keep up with me."

All it took was one twist and she was in Scout form, a light smile on her face, "Besides, you could _all_ do with the exercise."

Before anyone could make a comeback, she had already taken off into the forest.

* * *

The Senshi of the Universe skidded to a halt, having put each warrior through a non-stop fifteen minute run. She suppressed a chuckle, as she heard several strings of swear words thrown her way.

The words that came to her ears were spoken in a mix of English, Japanese, Ancient Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. She was dying to laugh at that point but held her normal calm appearance.

Luckily they couldn't see the large smile on her face, otherwise they would've been swearing louder.

"Are…" Cye puffed taking in shaky breaths, "You quite through dragging us all _OVER_?"

The Guardian couldn't help herself after hearing that statement being bellowed aloud; she gave a musical laugh, and turned around shaking her head.

"Now Shin," the Scout easily chided, "You're the ones who wanted to come along. I did _warn_ you."

"You…" Rowen gritted out between breaths, "Didn't mention a thing about us having to run the sprint from hell!"

She laughed a bit louder, whilst thinking in her head, _'Same old Touma.' _ The Sailor of Universe wisely decided to keep a witty retort to herself, though; she merely turned back around, coolly asking after the heaving breathing had subsided, "Are you ready?"

Some of the warriors groaned, they had just got through running, and did not wish to run any farther.

The Ronin of Halo frowned, sensing that there was something different about this clearing, the energy levels were higher…After a moment's hesitation he answered, "I think so."

"All right then," the Scout acknowledged his answer, taking a few steps forward and then calling out, "Oi! I did what you asked me to, they're here."

The Ancient's Staff suddenly appeared, and Kayura quickly clasped it in her hand, "What on earth?"

The rings began to chime as the ancient rod quivered violently, and then as sudden as it had started it came to an end.

"Actually," the translucent figure of Queen Serenity smirked, "The correct question would be 'what on limbo'. Thank you Universe. I do hope you realize that had they accepted…"

The Senshi simply chuckled, and waved her off, "I've been planning this for millennia, and you know that, don't act surprised. I would have gladly dealt with the consequences; have I not dealt with similar ones before?"

"Besides, I told her to go ahead and make the offer," the Ancient brought in now, almost smirking when Serenity threw him a hateful glare.

"All right you two kill each other later," Universe told them in a calm tone. "They didn't come here to listen to two old bickering biddies." At their stares of disbelief she gave a chuckle, saying to the warriors, "When you have need of me call me."

She walked over to a shadow, "Oi! Yaku, Kouken, come on." The two tigers let out chuckles before following the Scout; a second later all three were gone.

* * *

"So, what are you going to tell us?" Kirstin asked, arms crossed in front of her chest, overall look one of displeasure. "No offense, you two have been anything but helpful."

Serenity didn't appreciate the criticism, especially from a member of her guard, "It's not like we made the rules, you know. You have rules to follow in your society, so do we. They are there for a reason, some are rather helpful."

"On topic please," the Fall Seasonal cut overtop of that argument. "What questions can you answer for us, if any at all?"

"Your pasts are for you to remember, and no one else."

"That, Ancient One," Wildfire's bearer spoke up calmly, "Isn't exactly the full truth. Their pasts will return when you permit them too by dismantling the block the Council put there, or after they end up in a coma. Seeing as how we all stood in this clearing, and pledged to the Great Council that we would seek out any evil and destroy it; I think we are all entitled to better answers than what you're planning to give us."

It was obvious the two had not expected this, for they quickly exchanged looks with one another, before turning back to study the Ronin of Wildfire.

"She didn't say…" Queen Serenity began a scowl on her face.

"I didn't make a point of announcing I had my memories back," Ryo serenely interrupted once more, "I was warned to keep quiet, so I did."

He spoke a bit louder this time, so he was sure the others could hear him, "Lady Universe was the last member of her clan alive that part of it at least, but she wasn't royalty and the fact of the matter is we are. That's why we're immortals, and why Uni answers to everyone else."

"What!" The Ronin of Hardrock looked at his leader in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

"Mhm," He gave a slight nod of his ebony-head, giving a pointed glare to the two spirits, "Would either of you like to continue?"

Queen Serenity just barely avoided throwing her hands into the air from exasperation, "I swear, I should be used to this by now, you do this to us _EVERY_ time. Sometimes I wonder why the Great Council even bothered to try and hide the fact the past lives happened, since you all figure things out so quickly."

It was apparent she was a little more than steamed, "He's right, whereas the Senshi represent their planet's respective kingdoms, the rest of you represent the provinces on earth."

Rowen was trying very hard to hide the smug smile on his face, he loved it when he was right and he could not wait to get a chance to gloat in front of Sage later on.

"I don't believe it!" Amara bit back a laugh, the ten Ronins royalty? That was almost too much!

"But it does make sense when you think about it," Hotaru interjected thoughtfully.

Serenity let out a sigh, continuing on what would only be a brief explanation, "We were termed 'elders' by most of the Council, because we were old for humans, and being the last of her clan and thus it's representative, Lady Universe was also a member."

"The Council did as much as they could to keep her from voicing her opinions at such meetings, and since the original Universe was gone the job of Ambassador fell to her. That job entails the watching over of each galaxy and all the dimensions to make sure peace and prosperity flourishes, and that evil is kept at bay," Serenity took pause, "And no one, has ever been able to understand what made her swear an oath to protect you."

"You said last year the Council was disbanded, correct?" Ami queried tilting her head.

"Yes," the Ancient gave a nod, "At the end of the last lifetime, the Council sealed Universe's powers. However, this plan backfired because she accepted the full responsibility as her clan's representative. Thus, she was able to successfully disband the Council and gain the power her family kept."

"And, why," Rei dryly remarked, "Do I have this nagging suspicion those powers have something to do with the fact she can mess with time?"

"Probably because that is the reason?" Queen Serenity offered with a smile, but it faded. "In any case, now that Akemliek is free, and you are coming into your power, Universe's jurisdiction falls to you. She no longer has to answer to us, whether she has to do so to you, is your decision."

"Unfortunately, we cannot stay any longer," the monk brought in. "And we will stay out of things from here on in, unless you summon for us. Good luck to you all and farewell." He vanished.

"One thing, Uni doesn't always _have_ to listen. I think you know that well enough by now," Serenity remarked in amusement. "Just try not to aggravate her too much. She's got a biting sense of humor."

* * *

"Well," Anubis began slowly, "I think we were better off not talking to them."

"They sure bailed fast enough," Mina remarked, wrinkling her nose.

Ryo chuckled in amusement at that, "Yeah, well, what did you expect? The only one you'll get a semi-straight answer out of is, Uni. Speaking of, you can come back now!"

"No need to shout," the warrior in question carefully slipped down from the tree she'd been sitting in for the past five minutes, "I don't normally go too far. So, Kay, how vague were they this time?"

The Lady Ancient rolled her eyes, "Twice as bad."

"Honestly," the Senshi spat in aggravation, "You think considering how old they are they'd act a little more mature? Well, what did they tell you?"

"Um," Aurora began uncertainly, "A little about you, the Great Council, that the Ronins are royalty too. That we basically have, er, say-so when it comes to you?"

"Boy, they were really helpful this time," the Scout didn't bother to hide her mirth, she laughed, "My true bravery, send the Secondary Guardian to an early grave, how quaint of them."

"Is it really that bad?" Lindsay murmured curiously, quirking an eyebrow at the Scout.

"No," Universe steadied her laughter, "But to them, it appears that way. Come, we can talk more back at the mansion. If it starts raining again someone will end up catching pneumonia. Can't have that, now can we?"

Vanessa shook her head a small grin on her face, "Same old you, ne?"

"I," the Senshi remarked over her shoulder, "Have never had a need to change. Besides, when you come right down to it, change is too much like work."

* * *

They hadn't even been in the house for five minutes, when the skies opened up once more, but this time far more violently. Thunder sounded obnoxiously in the background, and lighting went off not far from the trees.

"Wow, we could've been stuck out in that," Lita made a face, tearing her eyes from the window.

Rini had been sitting in the living room, merely waiting for them all to get back, "Good timing, all right."

The walk back to the Shinwako mansion had been filled with conversation and jest between the groups. Elayne had powered down, the two tigers not leaving her side for more than a moment. She had not spoken a word to anyone, merely drawn herself inward and kept there.

The girl had merely kept to the front of the line, throwing cautious glances at the surrounding forest every ten minutes or so. No one was going to come and attack, but some habits she couldn't break.

It was as though she had gone permanently mute; until she collapsed onto the sofa, "Hey, Rini get me my kit, please?"

"Sure," the young girl handed her a case, only withdrawing after Elayne's free hand had ruffled her hair, "Laney!"

"Sorry, I'll behave," She rummaged through the case, quickly pulling out a bandage and a pair of scissors; she proceeded to roll up her pant leg, revealing an open gash on her leg.

Cye winced and quickly averted his gaze, "That looks painful."

"Wouldn't know," She impassively muttered, quickly wrapping up the wound, "Never even realized it was open, but Black Blaze did. Good thing too, or we'd have blood all over the place."

The tiger in question seemed to have a smug grin on his face, probably only to further irritate White Blaze, who was glaring at him…Well, it was an understatement to term _that_ look unkindly.

"Why don't you…" Cale began and then paused, "You can't?"

"Mhm. Crystal's been busy with more important wounds," She briefly glanced up, having put the last finishing touches on the bandage, "Namely all of yours."

Rowen winced as the thunder snapped even closer now, "What is up with that?"

"I'd still like to know about all the rain we had before we left," remarked Dais.

"Heh, my bad," Elayne said, "Not in a good mood now, nor was I in one then."

She let out a sigh and calmed herself down, and to their surprise the storm outside died down in response, "My powers are back, so the weather reaction is a tiny bit more drastic."

"Ah, hold on a minute," Mina blinked, "How…"

"Scout of Pain and Sorrow," Trista brought in with a bored tone. "Her element is rain, even though she functions as the Elementals "fire" Scout when they need one, she's closer tied to the rain."

"Yeah, what she said," Elayne quickly put everything back into the case, then looked up with a slight grin, "Now enough about me. Why don't you all take a seat, because we may be here a while, I have story telling to do."

Curiosity had long ago gripped each of the warriors, and they were quick to find a seat, each waiting expectantly for what was sure to be a lengthy tale. The girl then took a deep breath, and quickly plunged into the story.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

_Comprehensive History of the First World_

_

* * *

  
_

_It was not long after the creation of the world, when evil began to plague the land in high forms. Warriors stood up and fought for their families, their villages, and finally their countries to ward of what became referred to only as demons. _

_ However, these fights were not in any set place, for the world had become populated by many who had then made provinces represented by kingdoms. At that time life also existed on the other planets, though now they have become inhabitable._

_ It was during a time of great trial and tribulation, when the demons seemed to be almost completely out of control that the elements chose suitable guardians, or bearers to represent them. _

_ The elements feared that the planet would eventually collapse, for newer evils were coming over into this one from that of another realm. The realm itself was darker and more sinister, no light existed within it. The demons that came from there were strong and unrelenting; the elements knew that without aide the world, if not the galaxy, would fall. _

_ They chose only warriors that would be able to wield their great power, without having the fear of a warrior succumbing to the darker nature of each power source. _

_ Yet, there was more thing that they feared, one which they refused to openly voice…Fear that the great evil, which had been responsible for destroying galaxies much similar to this one, would find his way here._

_ Most of the evils were defeated within a hundred years due to the element's chosen, and peace reigned for a time. This was when the planetary kingdoms made contact with one another through the Universe's Representative, and finally ten years later with the Elemental Bearer's on Retah (Earth). _

_ Universe's heritage is, and shall remain unknown; all that is known is that the elements chose her to represent them. Thus giving her the ability to communicate and use each element, and in return the elements spoke through her to their chosen._

_ She was the one viable link between their dimension, and our realm; and because of her link the other warriors did trust her, albeit reluctantly._

_ Peace reigned for twenty years until the Ambassador, as she was called, appeared to each of the Elemental Bearer's, warning them that the great evil was coming and that he would prevail unless the bearer's united together to fight him._

_ But to use the powers bestowed upon one, was hard and near to impossible. It put the bearer in immense pain to call forth the element and use it without a 'bridge' between the two._

_ The Imperium Silver Crystal had been forged at the end of the last fights, the Jewel of Life three years later, and finally the Cimmerian Crystal. _

_ The origins of the Golden Crystal continue to remain a mystery, all that is known was that appeared in the East six years prior to the Cimmerian Crystal's forging. _

_ The four crystals were used to represent North, West, South and East, respectively according to where they were forged/found. The Cimmerian Crystal took its power from the other three, for it has within it the darker sides of each crystal's power ready for use, as well as the power from its own source. _

_ The Cimmerian Crystal keeps the three crystals pure and free from darkness, but when any is in possession of a darker power, the Cimmerian will lose its own, and if all three come under the fog of darkness it will become pure._

_Hearing of the worries of the great evil, the owner of the Imperium Silver Crystal asked it for guidance. The Crystal answered by creating transformation lockets, one for each of the planet's bearers so that they could use their power._

_ On earth the Jewel of Life, revealed the existence of the yoroi, or armors. The armors first made their appearance in the world, having sensed the coming great disturbance and fearing for their realm as much as any of the others. Hearing the elements plea they lent their use to the chosen, knowing direct channeling caused painful wear and tear on the immortals bodies._

_ When the great evil made itself known the warriors of that time, they had barely had a month's time to practice with these objects, which were later found to be the necessary 'bridge' between our world and that of the elements._

_ Worse still was that their first initial meeting was on the battle field, and Akemliek proved to be more than a formidable foe. The demon feeds off of disunion and pain, much more than any other of his kind._

_ The warriors having just met, were not united as a group, and were only able to force him back for a time. They swore that though they could not defeat him, that their descendants would._

_ The warriors parted, returning to their kingdoms to rule. Soon they had families to worry about, and the elemental abilities were passed down another generation._

_ However, half of the Ambassador's family, and she herself had been murdered not long after the fight with Akemliek. Everyone believed that the Raikken were responsible, but there were some disturbing rumors that said differently._

* * *

"And," Elayne murmured quietly, "I think you know where it goes from there."

"Sort of," Rowen admitted in honesty, "But there are still some things about you, that I can't figure out."

"With the original Universe dead, her duties fall on me. I am now the link between the elements, armors, and you. During the first lifetime, I was about fourteen when the family was destroyed and that was the last time I ever saw a one of them. They were never reborn like you and your families were."

"And we know you were sent to live with Kayura and her family," Kirstin pondered it out, "And sometime during that, the Great Council found out about your existence and asked Kaosu to introduce you to them."

"For some reason, you were crazy enough to get involved in all of this," Lita finished with a grin. "Though, no one is quite sure why."

"That's one secret I'm keeping," the girl remarked, leaning back in the chair, "This discussion is supposed to be about your history, what are you dragging me back into it for?"

Lindsay gave a snort, "Oh just the fact we've known you practical all our lives, and just recently discovered, you're one of us, and then again you're not. Even you, An, have to admit that is a lot to swallow."

Elayne gave an impatient sigh, and then glared at her cousin, before Hotaru pointed out with mirth, "Besides, you're a part of that history anyway."

"She has a point," Cale acknowledged with a grin, "Besides, how can we help ourselves? It's a curiosity."

Her eyes went deadpan, her tone flat, "Your curiosity has led to your deaths more times than I want to count."

"Okay, moving on," Ryo quickly brought in now, trying to spare himself from witnessing a rather gory murder.

Darien thought it all over, and decided to ask a potentially neutral question, "So, how old are you?"

Elayne couldn't help herself, and she burst out laughing "Oh, you don't want to _know_." She managed to dab at her eyes with her thumb to wipe at the tears, not caring she was getting funny looks. "I was older than you all to begin with. But now with all the time passage, even if you put all the lifetimes together, I'm _way_ older than you."

"Come on, how old?" Serena pressed, eager to know the information.

The girl let out a bored sigh, and recited in a monotone, "Four thousand, five hundred and twenty."

"WHAT?!"

Elayne snorted, "You _asked._ The Ronin are almost four thousand though, the Seasonals _are_." She grinned at the gaping looks she received for that comment, before leaning back into the sofa.

Deciding to spare Elayne from further demands, Kayura spoke up, "Can we call it a night?"

This sudden inquiry from the young Ancient caused the few that were starting to doze off to jolt forward slightly.

All eyes now off of her, the girl mouthed a _'thank-you'_ to the young woman, and kept her fingers crossed hoping the warriors would take the suggestion.

"Ya," Amara gave a considerably large yawn, "I'm with Kayura, it's late and I'm exhausted. We can talk more later on."

Everyone agreed to this proposal, and soon the living room emptied…Well, except for the Ronin Elementals. The Seasonals paused for only a minute, but then departed. If the five wanted to have a 'private' talk with the girl, then that was their business.

* * *

Sage had kept quiet, from all forms of conversation including the many mental ones that had occurred over the past few minutes. He had listened in but refrained from making any comments, everyone was starting to think he had fallen asleep.

His eyes were shut, and his breathing was slow and methodical, so he managed to surprise them when he spoke up.

"The name you have isn't your real name is it?" The Ronin of Halo murmured, opening violet-eyes to regard the girl as she answered.

The faintest of smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth, as she looked up at him, "No, no it isn't."

Black Blaze had been lying over by the stairs, but he quickly got up and padded over to her, sensing her inner turmoil and knowing she was close to a breakdown.

The swordsman waited patiently, perceptive enough to realize that she was trying to gather what little nerve she had left, in order to continue speaking.

She ran her fingers through the tiger's soft-silky fur, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice, "My real name I haven't used since I was fourteen. As for why I have the name I do, you're asking the wrong person." Now she grinned, as she said, "You'll have to ask yourself."

"You serious?" Kento queried with a tilt of his head, jabbing a thumb at Sage, "He _named_ you."

Elayne chuckled and stretched, "Seiji got annoyed that all I ever got addressed as was Universe. He said if I wouldn't give out my real one, he'd give me one. He started calling me An."

"So where'd Elayne come from?" the Strata Ronin asked.

"That was Shin's idea," here she outright chortled. "He berated Seiji and asked if he could have come up with a _shorter_ name. Then told me since I: "Bloody-well look like an Italian, you're getting a name to go with it!" That's what started the use of both names, and since I answered to either I incorporated them both."

"And before you ask," Ryo brought in chuckling now. "Shuu thought Mogami would be a fitting last name, simply because she and Seiji acted, and for the most part looked, related. Catarina was my idea."

The girl was now almost in stitches, "Which goes to show, you five are nuts. The name went from being 2 letters, to almost every single one in existence!"

"Hey, at least we're lovable," the archer defended with a pout.

* * *

Silence soon took over the room as the amusement died down, and the laughter faded away…Leaving them to focus on the true subject.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, knowing that they were scrutinizing her; finally her impatience got the better of her, as she demanded, "Well?"

Oh she knew it was coming, knew she was going to get told the one thing she did not want to hear from them…That they couldn't trust her anymore, not that they didn't want to, just because it was too much for them to handle in too short a time.

Kento winced at the sharpness in her voice, "Calm down mei mei."

The girl chuckled at him, and leaned back into the sofa again removing her hands from the tiger, eyes resting on the ceiling above her, "I'm perfectly calm Hardhead. You're just making me nervous by keeping so quiet."

"Making you nervous? I didn't think that possible," the Water Ronin gently teased, "You normally make everyone else nervous."

"Oh haha Cye, real funny," the girl grumbled, suddenly drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

Rowen tilted his head at her, unable to understand why she was in such a sour mood, "How come you sounded like you were reciting a textbook, anyway?"

Here a smirk crossed her face, as she cheerfully stated, "Because I was, _'Comprehensive History of the First World' _or something corny like that. I was not plagiarizing either, I helped write it so," Elayne stuck her tongue out at the archer to compensate for _'there.'_

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a chuckle, "You're rather moody tonight, aren't you?"

She shot him a death-glare, but thoughtfully responded, "Something has been bothering my senses lately, and I can't figure out what it is."

"It's probably just Akemliek you were sensing," the Hardrock Ronin offered, though he seriously doubted it was that; he only was trying to make the suggestion to soothe over her frayed nerves.

Elayne vigorously shook her head, "No, beneath that…Surely you sensed it? Then again, I might be going crazy."

Sage placed a hand on her left shoulder, and gave her an encouraging squeeze, "Whatever it is, imouto, there's no need to get in a stew over it."

"True," she was a little surprised at the contact, but then sighed. Meh, she might as well ask the question, "So, exactly how much do you guys _hate_ me, now?"

The young men all stopped and stared at her, glanced at each other, and then back at her.

"Hate you?" Kento blinked, "The hell for?"

Elayne let out a low moan and rubbed at her temple, "It was a simple question. I don't know, the fact I've practically been lying to you from day one of my coming into your lives, the fact I brought you and the Senshi together because I was supposed to do it…I could list more, if you want."

The swordsman of Halo chuckled at her, shook his head, "Imouto, you're absolutely hopeless. While your cousin," the word left his mouth rather quick, a look of disgust crossing his face before fading, "Made a good point it's a lot to take in, it doesn't mean we're going to shut you out."

"Don't say if he had any sense at all, he'd do it," Ryo said before she opened her mouth to make the comment. "You know we don't, why waste breath?"

Cye gave his leader a glare, before saying to her, "Sage's right, you don't deserve the cold shoulder treatment. You haven't done anything wrong. You did what you felt was right, that's all that matters."

"If we have a problem with it, we will deal with it," the archer added in stretching his limbs, they were starting to stiffen up. "Granted, we might be a little leery of you being Universe and all, but we'll get over it."

"After all, we're not kids," Kento brought in with a smile.

Elayne gave a snort, "That's debatable." She said to their glares, "I'm practically a fossil, remember? You'll always be _kids_ to me."

Kento gave a chuckle before walking over to her and yanking her up into a hug, "Yeah, maybe. But you're still _my_ mei mei. I'm going to hit the sack, you stop beating yourself up over things. Or, we _are_ going to have that talk."

The girl let out a light laugh, and nodded after Hardrock's bearer pulled away, "All right, Gege. I'll stop trying to act like Ryo."

Strata's bearer chortled at that, "Ha ha, ya do. One of him is enough. Night, brat."

"Ciao, Ro," she shrugged at Cye, "Do I get a lecture, _Mother Cye_, or do I get spared?"

"Hm, no lecture this time, but if you don't cheer up a little, ya never know," he winked, before giving her a brief hug and heading up the stairs.

"Nii-chan?" the girl tilted her head at him. "Exactly how often have you guys talked about _this_?"

Sage let out an amused chuckle, yes she knew him as well as he knew her; her question was only a statement of that, "Enough. I know it wasn't the reaction you were expecting, and don't think we're automatically accepting this, because part of it we still haven't yet…But we couldn't see putting you through more over this. I think you've put yourself in enough guilt already."

The Ronin of Halo grabbed her into a hug, and then swung her around, completely shocking her and getting a chortle out of the Wildfire Ronin.

"There," Sage put her down a grin on his face, patted her on the head, chuckling when she scowled and shoved his hand away. "I still _trust_ you. Elayne, Universe, your title doesn't matter it's the person you are which does. Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

The Ronin of Wildfire opened his eyes, after hearing the bedroom door click shut, "You okay?"

His sudden inquiry startled her; she quickly schooled her features to make it appear as though she were perfectly all right, "Ya."

"Shell-shocked huh?" the Ronin Leader offered her a sad smile. "Whatever they don't accept now, they will later. Give them time Uni."

"Rekka, I'm just surprised they were willing to accept that much," the girl murmured quietly. "Really, they were far _too_ accepting. What all did you tell them?"

"What I needed to and nothing more than that," Ryo assured her placing his hands on her shoulders, "And whatever worries you might have about the future? We're going to win this time. We have experience now that we never had before, have faith in us, kay?"

Elayne offered him a smile, "I've never doubted any of you, and I never will," She gently brushed his hands aside, and turned away, murmuring, "You were the ones that had the lack of faith and trust in me, and because of that I couldn't save you."

He sighed, knowing that in a sense she was right, "But you don't have to fear that this time. We know you now, for you, and not the person you were forced to be due to necessity."

"Furthermore," his tone of voice hardened slightly. "There's no way you're going to be kept on a leash this time. The only one you're going to answer to is you."

The girl chuckled at him, saying with a grin, "That's going to have to be a group decision, Ry."

"Oh yeah, we'll talk about it, but there is _no way_ I am letting any of us do what the Elders and Council did to you. It's not our place to do that any more than it was theirs. Besides, it'll give you the chance to do what you need to even if we don't, or can't, see it your way."

The Ronin of Wildfire gave her a hug as well, but he refused to let her go like the others had, "You believe me don't you?"

"Of course," Elayne smiled up at him, before hugging him back and then pulling away. "Now, get to bed, before White Blaze comes down here and hauls you off."

"All right, good night," Ryo murmured before he walked up the stairs and disappeared from her line of sight.

* * *

He let out a sigh as he entered the bedroom, and closed the door behind him. He was jerked abruptly out of his thoughts when he heard chuckling from around him and noticed his four friends were sitting up in their beds.

"Ya kiss her, yet?" Rowen queried with a smirk.

Kento chortled and said in warning, "Better not break mei mei's heart, there'll be pain awaiting you, courtesy of moi."

"If she leaves anything for you to destroy Kento," Cye chuckled out in amusement, watching with great pleasure as his leader's face turned red.

"That's not very nice you guys," Sage told them, before he gave a Cheshire cat-like grin, "They have to at least make it through a first date before she'll kill him, it's only proper. Or, that's the way she'd see it."

Ryo let out an annoyed breath at his four friends gave them the middle finger, and oh-so-calmly got ready for bed, and then flopped down on his mattress. At the foot of the bed White Blaze chuckled in amusement. Too bad Elayne had _missed_ the look on the four Ronins faces; talk about having jaws drop and clatter to the floor.


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty:**

* * *

Rowen sat up on the roof, his long legs stretched out before him, as he leaned back propped up solely by his elbows. The wind was moving lightly that day, and gently tossed his hair about.

The archer let out a long drawn-out sigh, slightly jumping when a voice sounded from behind him.

"Room for one more?"

The Ronin of Strata turned his head slightly and grinned to look at her, "Sure."

"Cool," Kayura chirped having picked up the phrase from one of the Senshi.

She sat down next to him, and then stretched her arms above her head, remarking, "Things certainly managed to settle down, didn't they?"

"Mhm," Rowen said with a nod for acknowledgement, but he said nothing more on the matter, permitting his thoughts once more to drift.

It was now the final week of March, and the time spent after that battle in Akemliek's territory had been used to recuperate. There had been no sight of Raikken, or Thanos since then.

The enemy had suffered quite a bit of damage, as the warriors had managed to collapse over more than half of the main passageways due to their fighting. The only way for the Raikken to get out was in very small numbers, and Akemliek wouldn't be bothered to send any. Not now.

No, the way Universe told it, because they had managed to fight so well, and do that much on their own, only needing her aide at the very last second, that they had successfully impressed him. Meaning he would be respectful and allow them time to recover.

Rowen was thankful for the breather, they all were…They definitely needed it at this point. This train of thought also brought one more thing up, the fact that the Senshi would be leaving.

Their part in this was over now, for the most part. There was no way to prevent the enemy from going after them, but it was a risk they were willing to take. They couldn't spend the rest of theirs lives just sitting around and waiting. None of them could, Ronin or Senshi…It was something they all knew and understood, now.

Fighting evil was just one more aspect of their lives; it did not mean they had to put everything on hold. They could easily manage both if they tried.

For the past two weeks the Inner and Outer Senshi had been finding places to stay, or making arrangements to go back to where they had been, before they had to give it all up for the safety of the innocent people around them.

They would be leaving by the end of the day, and Rowen was not that sad to see them go. Sure, he liked them all well enough…In fact he had grown rather accustomed to their presence and varying attitudes. But living with them for these past few months, had been _hell_.

Of course, the Elemental Senshi wouldn't be going anywhere, and that really didn't bother the Ronin of Strata. They didn't often clash with one another, or go out of their way to make him uncomfortable…Well, not like the other Senshi did that on purpose, it just seemed to happen.

Anyway, as Kirstin had put it, the Sailor Elementals, "bummed off of poor Elayne," and thus would be hanging around. Though, the young women weren't sure if they wanted to move back into the Estate and just leave the mansion for the Ronin and Seasonals to use.

The main problem, Vanessa had admitted to him, is that they'd be leaving Kayura alone with the nine men. Oh, they knew Kayura could take care of herself, it happened to be the guys they were worried about. If one of the men annoyed Kayura, it was just common sense that he'd be dead, and the other eight would soon follow.

"Ro?" Kayura queried, as she gently poked him in the shoulder.

Rowen shook his head vigorously as he came back to the world around him once more, "What's a matter?"

"You're quiet again, these past few weeks…I don't think I've ever seen you get lost in thought so often," the Lady Ancient remarked, "Is everything all right?"

"Ah, it's fine," the archer answered. "I'm still trying to put it altogether in my head to make sure I haven't missed anything. Plus, there's a lot I'm still unsure on, ya know?"

No, that wasn't completely true. There was a lot he still didn't want to admit was true. But there was no need for him to make the remark aloud, he was sure she had figured it out long ago.

A comfortable silence fell over them, as they turned their attention to the white clouds that passed by.

* * *

Kento finished his sit-ups, and then immediately went to work on his push-ups.

It was a nice day out, plenty of sunshine, a nice cooling breeze, couldn't get better practice weather than this.

Kirstin was not far from him, going through a number of easy self-defense movements. She tried to keep her concentration focused solely on the task at hand, but she found it kept wandering.

Finally, she gave an irritated sigh through her nose, "Oi, Kento? Don't push yourself so hard. You're going to pull a muscle, or bruise a tendon."

The Ronin of Hardrock chuckled in amusement at her concern, "No worries, Kirs. I'm not straining my muscles yet."

"You are as stubborn as your skull is thick," his elemental partner teased.

"Yup, I know," the Warrior of Strength chuckled, going to a one-handed push up. "At least I have my redeeming qualities though."

"Oh, really?" Kirstin queried, eyebrows quickly shooting up.

"Mhm, my good looks, and rugged charm."

Needless to say, Kirstin completely fell out of her stance and landed on the lawn laughing hysterically.

"Hey! I was being _serious_ that time!" Kento protested, this caused her to merely laugh harder.

* * *

Cye sat down on one of the whicker chairs, almost surprised at seeing Sage in the other, seemingly asleep. The Ronin of Torrent heard Kirstin's laughter, and wondered what had her in stitches.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when an answer came from the blond.

"Kento made a rather amusing comment about how charming he is."

Cye let out a loose breath, "You enjoy scaring to people to death, don't you?" He then chuckled while making the remark, "Ah, that'd do it then."

The Ronin of Trust now leaned back into the chair, "Think this rest will last for much longer?"

Sage gave a snort to that, saying as he opened his eyes, "I doubt it, but I'm thankful for whatever we can get at this point. I'd rather not deal with that desperate a situation again, anytime in the immediate future."

"Know what you mean," Torrent's bearer murmured. Silence reigned for a few minutes, before Cye queried with a grin, "Think they'll show back up to see the girls off?"

The blond swordsman let out a chuckle, "Knowing imouto? They'll be here."

* * *

"Ya, I gave the Jewel to Kayura yesterday," Ryo said in answer to her question. The two were running alongside one another, not very fast or anything abnormal, just a light jog with the occasional sprint thrown in.

"It did enough, I'm as good as new!"

Elayne chortled outright, "Oh ho, look who's gotten cocky now!"

"I'm confident," Ryo retorted rolling his eyes at her blatant teasing.

"Confident, cocky, they're synonymous when dealing with men," the girl remarked in a dry tone.

The Ronin of Wildfire gave a snort to this, but made no retort. He happened to know better when it came to dealing with her, then to offer her witty comments retorts. She just came up with worse comebacks, and made you wish you had never opened your mouth.

Ryo had been true to his word, the day after receiving the vast amount of information from her he and the other warriors had sat down to talk about what they were going to do now. The first thing that came up to discussion, was how to handle Universe, or whether they should even bother.

He had been fully prepared to argue his point, but he had started off calmly, not wanting to ruffle feathers too early in the game. Surprisingly, there hadn't been any real opposition to letting Universe live her life and do what she felt she needed to do…With or without their approval.

The Outer Senshi, Lindsay had not taken part in the debate she had simply kept silent, had not wanted to restrict her simply because it was Universe they were talking about. The way they saw it, she'd been restricted enough as it was.

The other four Ronin had commented that even though they had not known Universe well, nor remembered much about her, they knew she was trust worthy and would make the right choices when she needed to. Plus, really, this was _Elayne _they were really talking about. There was no way they could do that to her…None.

Since then, that had been it for any heavy discussions. They all were just burnt out at that point, and didn't want to deal with anything else. The others had accepted the fact Universe was among them, and had been so for all their lives.

For Ryo, that had been a point of relief. He worried about her, probably why he'd been hanging around her so much these past few weeks. If given the chance, he knew she'd draw inward, let the guilt laying just beneath the surface get it's claws fully into her.

And, he had missed her company. The other Ronin could make all the awful jokes they wanted about that. He did not happen to care.

Elayne was important to him, and Universe had been that way to Ryou. So he felt he had every right to-

"Oi! Stop thinking about that so loudly," Elayne rebuked him with a grumble, rubbing at her forehead.

Ryo gave a nervous chuckle, she was still tired too, meaning her walls weren't anywhere near as strong as they normally were, she couldn't block loud thoughts out, "Sorry. Hey, shouldn't we head back to see the space cases off?"

The girl drew to a halt then that sounded about right to her, but she double-checked her watch to make sure, "Ya, we should."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was gathered on the lawn. There were a few noted exceptions. The white and black tigers that were off somewhere sleeping, it would seem that the humans had worn them out way too much for their own liking.

The Sailor Elementals were also absent, having to run off not more than an hour before when their recording studio called. Saying that they had to re-record a song, because the original copy got trashed in the system, and the cd was scheduled for release within two months time, so they needed the new version done, _now_.

Elayne sat up on the second floor balcony, having said her goodbyes to the Senshi already. She let her legs dangle over the edge, and watched her charges with a neutral expression on her face.

"Well," Amara spoke to break the silence. "If nothing else, this has been amusing."

Sekhmet gave a snort, "Yes, agreed…Amusing in the "totally-amazing-any-of-us-survived" aspect."

"Thanks for that tidbit of wisdom," Cye snorted out, rolling his eyes, "Please leave all further statements of that nature to Rowen, thanks."

"Hey!" the archer groused, "Find someone else to pick on you guys!"

Serena bit down a laugh, she stood next to her Scouts, Rini and Darien off to her right, "Well, if you need us, don't hesitate to call us. It was an honor to fight alongside you." She bowed her respect.

"Mm," Lita nodded and grinned, "If there's a fight, I want to know about it."

"Of course," Kento chuckled out in amusement, bowing his head politely, "Take it easy, minna."

"Same to all of you," Ami bowed back, turning around and then started to walk away. Lita and Serena smiled, and then followed after her.

"Keep Pyro over there from life-threatening situations, if at all possible," Rei quipped before waving, and then jogging after her friends.

"Bye guys!" Mina chirped, trotting after the others.

Trista addressed the Ronin in a calm and even tone, "I look forward to working with you in the future. Farewell for now." She bowed and then walked away.

Amara gave a shrug of her shoulders, offering, "Later."

Michelle bowed and winked, "If you manage to avoid death traps, anyway."

"Oh ho, good one," Cye grumbled at her back.

Dais snorted down a laugh, "They have a point.

"Shut up spider-eye, no one asked you," the Hardrock Ronin commented as he punched his rival in the arm.

Lindsay gave a grin, "See you boys, I'm going to so miss looking at you." The woman then chortled at the look of horror on the Ronins and Seasonals faces, winked to Kayura, and then practically skipped off.

Hotaru sighed through her nose at the woman's antics, before bowing her head, "It was both a pleasure and honor to work with you all. I hope to see you again soon!"

"Later, Hotaru-chan," Sage said in acknowledgement, a small grin on his face.

She beamed a smile before walking away, she paused a moment, and then turned offering a wave to the girl on the balcony, before moving to catch up with her fellow Senshi.

"Dare, stay alive dude," Kento told the young man.

Darien chortled as he bumped his knuckles against the Warrior of Strength's, "Will do." He proceeded to go through and shake hands with the other men, exchanging a polite farewell comment with each. He bowed to Kayura, and then waited for Rini to say goodbye.

"Bye minna, I'll see you soon," Rini chirped as she proceeded to glomp each of them.

"Later, squirt," Ryo chuckled at the adolescent. The nine men and Lady Ancient watched in silence as the Senshi continued to walk away. Then, all of a sudden, Darien called back, "Hey! Elayne?"

She dropped down from the balcony, landed next to the Ronin of Halo, and stood upright, "Yes?"

"Keep them alive, would you?"

Elayne laughed for a few minutes, before answering with a wide grin, "Of course I will. After all, that's what I'm here for."

* * *

~The End

.........For now.


	32. Unwelcome Answers: Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

* * *

Things had been relatively quiet, nothing seemed out of place…Until a large explosion echoed throughout the hall, and literally rocked the palace.

"Bah! Not again," a Dynasty soldier, Outa, moaned out in complaint as he scurried down the hall towards where the noise had come from.

Another had already beaten him to the scene, was probably scowling behind his mask. Nitto sounded aggravated when he spoke, "That's the second recent construction collapse we've had in a week. We are going to have to tell Kayura-hime."

Outa's grimace was apparent in his voice, "No, let's not trouble her with this. We should not needlessly worry her, and the Seasonal Lords."

"Needless?" Nitto cried out, "She's going to be _pissed_ if we don't tell her and she finds out about it on her own. When she does call and ask for the report, we are going to the Nigenkai."

"What? Are you insane?" Outa protested.

"They must know what is occurring here, and I do not trust the channels of communication with all the trouble we've been having around here lately. Plus, they need to be made aware that a cusalta might be present."

"That _is_ absurd," Outa grumbled, "We would have found it by now, if there was one."

"If the rumors about the Nysantic are true, then I will not take chances concerning this. Ridiculous or not, when Kayura-hime calls, we will answer."

* * *

Kayura let out a small sneeze and rubbed at her nose, soon wrinkling it in thoughtfulness.

"Bless you," Kento told her.

Rowen chuckled as he remarked, "Somebody is talking about you Kayura, I hope it's good."

"Doubtful," Cale commented with a snort, before the Lady Ancient let out a war cry and started chasing him across the front lawn.

"Run, Cale, run!" Sekhmet and Cye hollered at him, before both succumbed to laughter.

"Run faster," Kento bellowed, as he cupped his hands to his mouth, "She's gaining on you!"

"He can run all he likes," the Summer Seasonal chuckled in amusement, "He's _still_ a dead man."

Anubis bit down a snigger then winced as Kayura tackled the man to the ground, "That looked painful."

"Ha, wait till she starts pummeling him," Strata's bearer chortled out, "_Then_ he'll be in pain."

Ryo let out a sigh of despair, before walking of the porch. His sole intent at this point was to break up the fight, and prevent the death of Winter's bearer.

Sage chuckled at his rival's misfortune, before snapping his attention to the forest. His eyes narrowed, for a brief moment…He had thought he had felt something. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Seiji-nii?" Elayne queried, she had come out of the house upon hearing Kayura yelling at Cale about how she was going to kill him. She had noticed the swordsman's immediate shift in focus, "What's the matter?"

"Did you sense that?" the bearer of Halo hesitantly queried.

"Mhm," the girl gave a nod. "Just for a second, though."

"Wonder what it could have been," he murmured out, suddenly throwing his attention back to the three on the lawn. He let out a low moan in embarrassment.

Somehow, Kayura had inadvertently knocked Ryo unconscious in her attempts to kill Cale. Now the Winter Seasonal was trying to help the Lady Ancient revive the poor young man. Everyone on the porch groaned at seeing this, and sighed through their noses.

"Why do I have this feeling," the swordsman turned his violet eyes to the Secondary Guardian, whom had slapped herself in the forehead upon seeing what had happened. He did not continue though, merely waited for her to press.

"Ya?" Elayne queried, brows furrowed.

"That we're _doomed_?" Sage finished, tone dry.

Those remaining on the porch burst into laughter at this, including the girl. Halo's bearer had a point…If Kayura was the Ronin's Guardian they really didn't stand a chance with the way she was taking them out.

For now, the warriors could laugh and relax…But soon, the next round of fighting would start. The question was, would they be prepared to face certain things in their past?

_ Only time would tell… _

_

* * *

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_A/N: And that ladies and gentlemen is the end of The Gathering of the Legends: Unwelcome Answers. I wish to thank my loyal readers for sticking with this series. Also special thanks to LWKitty, my beta-reader, Yesterday'sTonic and Sifirela K. Hashiba (betas, as well as people I bounce my ideas off of). So, why did I change my mind about uploading more than one chapter this month? In light of the fact I completed Book 4: The Ending of an Era, I decided you all deserved the rest of Book 2. I will be taking a break before uploading, Book 3: Journey Through the Past, but be on the look out for it soon._

_Thanks for reading, and to those who you reviewed thanks for the feedback!  
_

_-LG  
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